Lao officials have repatriated 129 Thai nationals arrested in Vientiane over work linked to 11 online gambling websites, including 14 people who had previously been repatriated but later crossed back into Laos illegally.
The group was handed over to Thai officials at the First Thai-Lao Friendship Bridge in Nong Khai at around 2pm yesterday, September 17, following a crackdown on online gambling and scam operations in the capital.
Thai immigration officers, Nong Khai police and officials from the Thai embassy in Vientiane received the 129 men and women before taking them for screening by a multidisciplinary team in Nong Khai.
Officials found no trafficking victims, people who had been deceived into the work, or individuals wanted under arrest warrants among the group.
Nong Khai employment officials subsequently took legal action against all 129 for travelling abroad for work without notifying the relevant authorities.
Investigators found that the group had travelled to Laos to work for 11 online gambling websites, earning an average of 15,000 to 21,000 baht per month. They stayed at several hotels in Vientiane while working.
Lao authorities detained them for working without permission and for employment connected to online gambling. They were returned to Thailand after legal proceedings in Laos were completed.
Among the group, 14 people had already been repatriated from Laos through Nong Khai on May 21, but later crossed back into Laos through unofficial border routes to return to the same type of work.
Officials also found another person who had left Thailand through an unofficial route.
Nong Khai Immigration therefore took separate legal action against all 15 for leaving Thailand without passing through an authorised checkpoint or undergoing immigration inspection.
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The story 129 Thais returned from Laos over online gambling work as seen on Thaiger News.
