Blacklisted Vietnamese men arrested for illegally entering Thailand

Immigration police arrested three Vietnamese men this morning for illegally entering Thailand through a border checkpoint in the Isaan province of Nong Khai despite being blacklisted.

Officers from the Nong Khai Provincial Immigration Office came across a Facebook post by a Vietnamese man, later identified as 34 year old Phan Dinh Sy, who advertised a transport service for Vietnamese nationals wishing to enter Thailand illegally. His service was priced at 15,000 baht per person.

Further investigation into the illegal service revealed that Sy was planning to transport two Vietnamese nationals to Thailand via the Nong Khai border checkpoint today, August 5. His car was identified as a black sedan, so officers closely monitored the suspicious vehicle.

Officers successfully tracked the suspect vehicle, which picked up two Vietnamese nationals at Nong Khai Bus Terminal, and arrested them all. The other two Vietnamese men were identified as 36 year old Phan Van and 30 year old Tran Van Am.

Sy was found to be in Thailand on a non-LA visa, which is issued to foreign workers. His visa expires on 3 February next year. Van was found to have been blacklisted since October 30, 2023, and Am since August 30, 2023.

Sy was charged under Section 64 of the Immigration Act: whoever aids or harbours foreigners who illegally enter the Kingdom of Thailand shall be punished by imprisonment for up to five years and a fine of up to 50,000 baht.

He was also charged with being a migrant worker who worked outside of what he was allowed to do. The penalty was a fine of 5,000 to 50,000 baht, deportation and a two-year ban on obtaining a work permit.

The other two Vietnamese men were charged under Section 81 of the Immigration Act: entering or staying in the Kingdom of Thailand without permission or with expired permission. The penalty is imprisonment for up to two years and a fine of up to 20,000 baht.

In a related report, Tourist Police officers last month arrested a Gambian man on Koh Pha Ngan in the southern province of Surat Thani after he entered the country illegally and stayed on the island for more than seven years.

Last week, seven foreigners were arrested in Phuket for overstaying their visas. Their nationalities were not revealed in the report.