Thai man arrested for launching Internet cables across border

A joint task force in Tak apprehended a resourceful individual who was using a water rocket launcher to extend Internet cables across the border into Myanmar for Chinese clients. The suspect admitted that was hired by Thai individuals from across the border.

Yesterday, September 1, a joint task force comprising the 431st Infantry Company, local administrative officers from Mae Sot district, police from Mae Sot Police Station, and several other units conducted a patrol along the Moei River in Ban Mae Kuet Mai, Mae Kasa subdistrict, Mae Sot district, Tak province. During their patrol, they encountered a suspicious individual digging and assembling a drilling rod near the riverbank.

Upon closer inspection, they identified the suspect as 30 year old Jongrak, a Thai national. The suspect was found with various equipment, including a roll of fibre optic cable, a roll of wiring cable, three rolls of large fishing rope, two steel stripping tools, two pipe wrenches, a large roll of sling wire, a bicycle pump, a water rocket launcher, a roll of nylon rope, sixteen sections of drilling rods (cylindrical steel tubes), and a fibre closure splice box.

Jongrak confessed that he had been hired by Thai individuals in Myanmar to smuggle fibre optic internet and wiring cables across the border into Myanmar.

The cables were intended for use in operations suspected to be illegal, such as call centre scams or online gambling, which are prevalent in neighbouring countries of Thailand. This method of smuggling represents a new tactic as strict crackdowns have made traditional smuggling routes risky.

The joint task force, including the Technology Crime Suppression Division, the 346th Border Patrol Police Company, and the Naresuan Task Force, carried out the operation after receiving intelligence about the illicit activities along the Moei River.

The new smuggling technique uses a water rocket launcher to send cables across the river as a response to the intensified crackdowns on illegal cross-border activities. This method allows smugglers to evade detection by avoiding traditional crossing points, which are heavily monitored.

The suspect and the seized equipment were handed over to the police of the 2nd Division of the 4th Technology Crime Suppression Division for further legal proceedings. The unit will continue to investigate the network behind this operation to curb cross-border illegal activities, reported KhaoSod.