Thailand launches a nationwide hunt for over 10,000 visa overstayers as police arrest fraud suspects and fugitives. An Israeli is nabbed after 2,095 days illegally in Thailand. Meanwhile, drug raids seized 17.8 million meth tablets and tonnes of ice.
Thailand’s police have launched a nationwide dragnet for more than 10,000 visa overstayers as immigration chief Lieutenant General Nopasin Poolsawat orders officers to hunt down foreigners illegally resident for years. Raids have already netted South Korean fraud suspects, Chinese gang organisers and an Israeli who overstayed 2,095 days. Meanwhile, over 81,000 foreigners have been refused entry since October 2025. The crackdown comes alongside a massive drugs offensive led by police chief General Samran Nuanma. Officers have seized over 17.8 million methamphetamine tablets, 2.3 tonnes of crystal meth and assets exceeding ฿550 million. Drug financiers and international criminal networks are now firmly in police sights as Thailand’s big clean up proceeds.
Thailand’s police have launched a major nationwide crackdown on drug trafficking, international criminal gangs and immigration offenders. More than 10,000 foreigners with expired visas are now being targeted.
National Police Commissioner General Samran Nuanma and Immigration Bureau chief Police Lieutenant General Nopasin Poolsawat are directing the offensive. Meanwhile, police have seized millions of methamphetamine tablets and tonnes of crystal methamphetamine.
International fraud suspects and foreigners illegally resident for years have also been arrested. The operation extends from Bangkok to tourist islands, commercial centres and border provinces.
Police widen nationwide hunt for 10,000 visa overstayers as drug and international crime raids intensify
The crackdown intensified during October, with major narcotics seizures and coordinated immigration raids. Police are pursuing foreign suspects wanted overseas while investigating domestic and international drug networks.
In parallel, immigration officers are using criminal intelligence and international wanted-person records to identify suspects hiding in Thailand. The campaign also follows new deportation regulations introduced by Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul’s government in August.
On 20 October, Nopasin ordered immigration divisions nationwide to pursue more than 10,000 suspected visa overstayers. The directive followed the discovery of an international fraud operation involving South Korean and Chinese nationals in Bangkok.
Although the figure represents an estimated target population, it places thousands of foreigners under immigration scrutiny. The order came amid a wider police offensive against narcotics trafficking, organised fraud and illegal immigration.
Bangkok raids expose South Korean fraud network run from luxury homes with Chinese organisers
The previous day, immigration officers and South Korean police raided three locations across Bangkok. Eight South Koreans and two Chinese nationals were arrested over a suspected international fraud network.
Notably, Nopasin personally led more than 30 immigration officers during the operation. South Korean investigators also participated, providing direct international police cooperation.
Investigators uncovered a suspected criminal organisation operating from expensive residential properties in the capital. According to police, two Chinese nationals acted as organisers and trainers for South Korean fraud operators.
Their targets were victims in South Korea. The schemes involved impersonating prosecutors, issuing fabricated arrest warrants and conducting romance scams. Furthermore, investigators discovered that the organisation rented a luxury property in Bangkok’s Sai Mai district for ฿150,000 monthly.
The investigation began on 4 September with the arrest of a South Korean national. He had overstayed his visa and was wanted in connection with fraud offences. Subsequently, investigators traced the wider organisation operating from Bangkok. Their inquiries culminated in the coordinated raids on 19 October. Immigration officials revoked the visas of all ten suspects following their arrests.
Immigration chief orders nationwide overstay hunt as Israeli drug suspect is caught after nearly six years
In response, Nopasin ordered an intensified nationwide hunt for foreigners illegally remaining in Thailand. More than 10,000 suspected overstayers were identified as the target of the operation. The figure was not presented as an arrest total. Rather, it represented the estimated population immigration officers had been instructed to pursue.
On another front, Bangkok police arrested a 54-year-old Israeli national identified as Tomer on 23 October. The suspect had reportedly overstayed his visa by 2,095 days. That amounted to approximately five years and nine months of illegal residence in Thailand.
Officers located him at accommodation in Bangkok’s Huai Khwang district. During the arrest, police reported discovering crystal methamphetamine.
The Israeli subsequently faced charges involving drug possession, immigration overstaying and refusing a drug test. The operation was supervised by several senior police commanders. These included General Samran, Metropolitan Police Commissioner Police Lieutenant General Siam Boonsom and Immigration Bureau Commissioner Nopasin.
Separately, Police Major General Teeradej Thumsutee directed the investigation. He is the deputy Metropolitan Police Commissioner responsible for narcotics suppression.
Police chief targets drug financiers as officers seize tonnes of crystal meth and millions of tablets
The arrest was reported publicly on 24 October. It involved metropolitan police, narcotics investigators and immigration officers working on the same case. Significantly, the suspect had remained illegally in Thailand for nearly six years. His arrest came during the wider crackdown targeting immigration offenders and drug-related crime.
However, the national police offensive extends far beyond foreign immigration offenders. Earlier in October, General Samran announced massive drug seizures following investigations into international and domestic trafficking networks. On 9 October, the Royal Thai Police reported major operations against international maritime drug trafficking organisations. Domestic transport gangs were also targeted.
Officers seized more than 1.8 tonnes of crystal methamphetamine and 10.8 million methamphetamine tablets. In addition, police confiscated assets valued at over ฿550 million. The seizures formed part of a major operation against criminal networks involved in moving and distributing illegal drugs. General Samran subsequently identified narcotics suppression as a top priority for the Royal Thai Police.
The national police chief instructed investigators to pursue financiers, organisers and supporters of major trafficking networks. His orders extended beyond the arrest of couriers and individuals transporting drugs. Consequently, investigators were directed towards the financial and organisational structures supporting the trade. Those financing and directing major criminal operations became a central focus of the police campaign.
Fresh drug seizures stretch across Thailand as immigration raids hit southern islands and Burma border
Further substantial results followed on 22 October. The Office of the Narcotics Control Board announced additional seizures under Operation Pairi Phinat 3.
The operation targeted major drug trafficking activities across Thailand. Investigators reported seven major cases involving more than seven million methamphetamine tablets. Additionally, officers seized more than 505 kilogrammes of crystal methamphetamine.
The operations extended across northern, central, northeastern and southern Thailand. Police targeted drug transport vehicles, parcel shipments, storage locations and entertainment establishments. These seizures were reported separately from the larger operation announced on 9 October. Together, the two announcements accounted for more than 17.8 million methamphetamine tablets and over 2.3 tonnes of crystal methamphetamine.
At the same time, immigration enforcement was intensifying across Thailand’s tourist destinations and border provinces. On 16 October, police arrested five foreign women on Koh Samui, Koh Phangan and Koh Tao. All five faced immigration overstaying offences. One woman had reportedly remained in Thailand for 799 days beyond her permitted stay.
The following day, another major operation was reported in Mae Sot, Tak province. Police arrested more than 200 immigration offenders in the border area. Furthermore, officers reported eight drug cases and six online gambling cases during the operation. Mae Sot is a major crossing point on Thailand’s border with Burma. The town handles substantial cross-border movement and commercial activity.
Rayong corruption inquiry and Chinese fraud arrests add to immigration drive as entry refusals top 81,000
Elsewhere, immigration officers conducted checks involving more than 100 Chinese nationals at entertainment venues in Rayong on 17 October. The operation also involved an investigation into possible official corruption. The outcome of that inquiry was not established in the available reports. Nevertheless, the investigation placed possible official misconduct alongside immigration enforcement in the province.
Further arrests followed in Chonburi province. On 22 October, police arrested a Chinese national in Si Racha after an overstay lasting approximately three years. The individual was also connected to a fraud investigation in China. The case added to a series of arrests involving foreign nationals wanted over criminal investigations overseas.
Indeed, Nopasin had already disclosed substantial immigration enforcement figures at the beginning of October. On 1 October, he announced that immigration officers had refused entry to more than 81,000 foreigners. The figure covered the period beginning on 1 October 2025. It represented approximately 7,000 refusals monthly.
The announcement followed the arrest of a Chinese national identified as Sun Wen in Kanchanaburi. The 33-year-old had overstayed his permission to remain in Thailand by 578 days. Moreover, he was wanted in China over a property fraud investigation involving more than ฿200 million. The arrest formed part of immigration investigations involving foreign suspects wanted in their home countries.
Immigration police use foreign wanted lists as new deportation rules tighten action against offenders
Nopasin said officers were increasingly using international wanted-person records and criminal intelligence. These systems helped investigators identify foreign suspects who might otherwise remain undetected.
He described the intelligence-led approach as a new direction for immigration policing. Accordingly, international criminal records have become an important part of investigations into foreigners entering or remaining in Thailand.
The crackdown also follows significant changes to Thailand’s deportation procedures. New regulations signed by Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul took effect on 28 August 2026. They cover foreigners involved in illegal entry, immigration overstaying, unauthorised employment and illegal business activities. The regulations also apply to document forgery and serious criminal offences.
Under the new procedures, cooperation between prison officials and the Immigration Bureau has been strengthened. Deportation arrangements can begin promptly after foreign offenders complete their prison sentences.
As part of this, the regulations provide for closer coordination between imprisonment, immigration enforcement and removal from Thailand. They follow the Immigration Bureau’s previously announced No Entry, No Stay, No Escape policy.
Earlier immigration campaign records 14,161 arrests as Thai and South Korean police expose Bangkok scams
That earlier campaign had already produced substantial enforcement figures before the latest October offensive. Government figures published earlier in 2026 reported 14,161 arrests involving immigration overstayers and illegal workers.
Additionally, officials reported 668 student visa revocations. Immigration officers had also raided 190 locations identified as presenting elevated enforcement risks.
Those figures relate to earlier enforcement activities and are separate from the nationwide operation ordered on 20 October. Even before the latest directive, immigration officers had been conducting thousands of arrests and extensive investigations. The new order added more than 10,000 suspected overstayers to the Immigration Bureau’s nationwide enforcement targets.
The October operations also reveal extensive cooperation between Thai investigators and foreign police agencies. In Bangkok, South Korean investigators helped uncover a fraud organisation operating from luxury residential properties.
Two Chinese nationals were identified as organisers and trainers, while eight South Koreans were arrested. The suspected network targeted victims overseas through fabricated arrest warrants, impersonation and romance scams.
Chinese fraud suspects and long-term Israeli overstayer feature in raids across tourist and border areas
Separately, Thai immigration officers arrested Chinese nationals connected to criminal investigations in their home country. Sun Wen was wanted over a property fraud investigation involving more than ฿200 million.
Another Chinese national arrested in Si Racha was linked to a fraud investigation in China. Both cases involved substantial periods of immigration overstaying.
The Israeli suspect arrested in Huai Khwang had remained illegally in Thailand for 2,095 days. His arrest also involved the discovery of crystal methamphetamine. Notably, the investigation was directed by a senior metropolitan police officer responsible for narcotics suppression. It brought immigration and drug enforcement together in a single operation.
Provincial operations have also reached the country’s major tourist destinations. Officers arrested overstayers on Koh Samui, Koh Phangan and Koh Tao. In Mae Sot, more than 200 immigration offenders were arrested alongside investigations into drugs and online gambling. Meanwhile, the Rayong operation involved checks on more than 100 Chinese nationals and an inquiry into possible corruption.
Massive narcotics seizures and new deportation procedures drive coordinated police operations nationwide
The narcotics campaign has produced even larger seizures. Across two separately announced October operations, police confiscated more than 17.8 million methamphetamine tablets. They also seized over 2.3 tonnes of crystal methamphetamine. Assets valued at over ฿550 million were confiscated during the operation announced on 9 October.
General Samran has ordered investigators to pursue the financial backers and organisers of major trafficking networks. The directive covers those supporting criminal operations as well as individuals transporting drugs. In parallel, immigration police are using international intelligence to identify foreign suspects and long-term overstayers.
The government has also introduced new procedures for deporting foreign offenders after prison sentences. These regulations took effect before the latest police operations. They provide immigration officers with a framework for arranging the removal of foreign offenders following imprisonment.
The October crackdown has therefore involved several simultaneous enforcement operations. Narcotics investigators have intercepted enormous drug shipments and pursued trafficking organisations. Immigration officers have arrested long-term overstayers and foreign suspects wanted overseas. International police cooperation has also produced arrests involving a suspected fraud network operating from Bangkok.
Bangkok fraud raids trigger national overstay hunt while drug squads target trafficking routes and storage
The most significant immigration directive came after the 19 October Bangkok raids. Nopasin ordered officers nationwide to pursue more than 10,000 foreigners believed to be illegally remaining in Thailand. The order followed the arrests of eight South Koreans and two Chinese nationals. All ten had their visas revoked after investigators uncovered the suspected international fraud operation.
The national narcotics campaign has also expanded under General Samran’s direction. Police have reported major drug seizures across multiple regions, including international maritime trafficking investigations. Meanwhile, Operation Pairi Phinat 3 has targeted transport vehicles, parcel shipments, storage sites and entertainment establishments.
With the latest orders in force, police operations now stretch from Bangkok’s luxury residential districts to Thailand’s border crossings and tourist islands. The campaign involves immigration officers, metropolitan police, narcotics investigators and foreign law enforcement agencies.
Police commanders pursue drug financiers and 10,000 visa overstayers after arrests across the country
General Samran’s narcotics directive targets the financiers and organisers behind major drug networks. Nopasin’s immigration order targets more than 10,000 suspected visa overstayers nationwide.
Both commanders are directing enforcement operations that have already produced major arrests, enormous drug seizures and investigations into international criminal organisations.
The crackdown has also reached foreigners who remained illegally in Thailand for years. Among them was the Israeli arrested after a 2,095-day overstay and the Chinese suspect wanted in a ฿200 million fraud investigation.
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Meanwhile, the Bangkok raids exposed a suspected international fraud network operating from a luxury property costing ฿150,000 monthly.
The latest police orders now place drug traffickers, international fraud suspects and thousands of immigration offenders under nationwide investigation. General Samran has directed police towards the organisers and financiers of the drug trade. At the same time, Nopasin has mobilised immigration divisions across Thailand against the country’s estimated 10,000-plus visa overstayers.
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