11 arrests made in Rohingya identity fraud case

Eleven people have been arrested and more are being sought in a major crackdown against a network accused of fraudulently obtaining Thai registration documents for Rohingya migrants rom Myanmar, authorities said on Saturday.

Among those in custody is a former senior district official in Surat Thani, where most of the offences took place. He is now the deputy chief of Khanom district of Nakhon Si Thammarat.

Police, immigration officers, officials from the Department of Provincial Administration and other agencies carried out the operation on Saturday.

Armed with 17 arrest warrants, they conducted simultaneous searches at 13 locations in Surat Thani, including Koh Samui and Koh Phangan; Nakhon Si Thammarat, Ranong, Krabi, Songkhla and Buri Ram provinces.

The arrest warrants named a former Don Sak district deputy chief in Surat Thani, a former district employee, three household owners who allegedly endorsed registrations, and 12 Rohingya migrants accused of unlawfully obtaining the cards. Six of the migrants remain at large.

The investigation targeted a fraud scheme involving the issuance of “zero-number identification cards” — 13-digit ID numbers starting with 0. They are issued to non-citizens, stateless individuals or ethnic minorities legally residing in the country, granting them formal legal status, access to government services and basic healthcare.

The suspects face charges related to malfeasance in office, falsification of official documents, certifying false information, and unlawfully facilitating the inclusion of individuals in household registration records and other civil registration documents.

Deputy national police chief Pol Gen Samran Nualma, who led the operation, said the investigation stemmed from complaints filed earlier this year alleging that Rohingya migrants had illegally obtained identification cards through the Don Sak district office in Surat Thani.

A Department of Provincial Administration task force subsequently launched an inquiry. It found that a former Don Sak deputy chief named Phairat (surname withheld) collaborated with others to process registration records and issue zero-status identity cards to as many as 240 individuals between 2021 and 2023.

The findings prompted coordination with police, leading to the uncovering of a broader criminal network, said Pol Gen Samran.

According to Pol Gen Samran, registration fraud in Thailand takes many forms, including identity theft involving inactive registrants, false birth registrations, false marriages, and misuse of education entitlements.

Police and officials search a house said to be linked to the Rohingya identity fraud network, in Surat Thani on Saturday. Investigators said householders were paid 1,000 to 2,000 baht to include foreign nationals in their house registration records. (Photo supplied/Wassayos Ngamkham)

However, he described the Don Sak case as particularly serious because it had potentially significant implications for national security.

He said many of the migrants involved were believed to have originated from Rakhine State in Myanmar, where the Rohingya have been persecuted for decades, and entered Thailand either as part of human trafficking operations or through illegal border crossings. Some then sought registration status to enable them to remain in the country.

According to the investigation, the network consisted of two main groups. The first comprised brokers who recruited household owners willing to include foreign nationals in their house registration records in exchange for payments of 1,000 to 2,000 baht per person.

The brokers also reportedly charged the Rohingya migrants up to 50,000 baht each to obtain the special identification cards, with at least 15 million baht said to have changed hands.

The second group involved corrupt public officials. Investigators identified one registration official and one district official accused of facilitating the issuance of the documents.

Pol Gen Samran said that once undocumented migrants obtain zero-status cards, police can no longer prosecute them for illegal entry because the documents identify the holders as individuals awaiting nationality verification.

This enables recipients to establish communities, appoint leaders and carry on activities with a greater degree of security, he said.

Investigators also reported cases of intimidation, extortion and ransom demands within Rohingya communities, including incidents involving firearms and physical assaults.

Such activities may be linked to broader human trafficking operations and have contributed to serious criminal problems in affected areas, said Pol Gen Samran.

Provincial authorities have reportedly ordered the immediate dismissal of the implicated officials from the civil service and suspended all registration updates for names flagged by investigators.

Any cards found to have been issued unlawfully will be systematically revoked and purged from the state database, officials said.

The Royal Thai Police are not limiting the investigation to southern Thailand but will expand the crackdown nationwide to root out registration fraud networks.

Authorities vowed to pursue all those involved, including brokers, foreign nationals and civil servants who abuse their positions, said the deputy police chief.

The Anti-Money Laundering Office (Amlo) will also investigate the financial transactions of suspects and their associates, trace financial flows and pursue asset seizures in an effort to dismantle the network and its operations entirely.

(Photo supplied/Wassayos Ngamkham)