On December 22, the Thai Armed Forces discovered a backpack containing many iPhones and SIM cards in the area bordering Cambodia, suspected of being involved in online fraud. The exhibits are believed to be used by smugglers to collect and bring to Cambodia to serve a fraud gang.
According to the announcement of Thai Military Region 2, the gray backpacks were discovered on the morning of December 22, after a patrol team organized a search since December 21, at a sugar plantation behind Wat Sutthawat Pagoda, in Ban Thung Ruang Thong village, Khlong Nam Sai commune, Aranyaprathet district ( Sakaeo province).
Inside the backpack were 22 iPhone 11s with many different colors, an iPhone SE, 20 prepaid SIM cards newly registered in Hong Kong (China), 28 charging wires, a keyboard and a computer monitor. The authorities also seized a copy of the identification document in the name of a Chinese man from Gansu Province.
The authorities said that this device was likely prepared to be illegally transported across the border, serving fraud centers that used foreign phones and SIM cards to conceal traces and approach victims in many countries.
All exhibits have been handed over to Khlong Nam Sai police station for further inspection, examination and investigation expansion. The authorities have not yet published further information about the owner of the device as well as the line behind the incident.
The Thai - Cambodian border area has recently been frequently exploited as a transit point for technology devices for fraudulent activities, in which smartphones and international SIMs are popular means of online fraud groups.
