PATTAYA, THAILAND – Immigration police in Chonburi arrested 17 Indian nationals in Central Pattaya during a night raid, with 15 accused of overstaying their visas and facing deportation.
Night raid on suspected worker safe house
In the early hours of 17 November, officers searched a modest residential building in Soi Sukhumvit–Pattaya 57. The operation was part of a tightened nationwide campaign against illegal foreign workers and so-called overstayers, carried out under directives from the Royal Thai Police and the government.
Surveillance after reports of unusual activity
The raid followed reports of unusual movements at the property. A team led by Pol. Col. Naphasphong Khosit-suriyamanee, head of Chonburi Immigration, and his deputy Pol. Lt. Col. Kawinwat Arayasuriwong, first kept the house under surveillance. When several Indian men were seen leaving in what officers considered a conspicuous manner, they moved in immediately and found the group spread across several rooms inside.
Fifteen overstayers and two with valid tourist visas
An initial passport check showed that 15 of the 17 men had significantly exceeded their permitted stay in Thailand. Two others still held valid tourist visas and were being intensively questioned to determine whether they belonged to the same structure, were involved in unauthorized work, or were genuinely in Pattaya as tourists.
Statement about alleged job broker
One detained worker told police through an interpreter that an Indian job broker had brought him and other men to Thailand with promises of jobs in the Pattaya area. According to police, he stated:
“We were accommodated together in this house until our visas expired.”
said the man, who added that the group was to be assembled there before being sent to workplaces in the surrounding area.
Deportation proceedings and search for organizers
Authorities had already initiated deportation procedures for the 15 overstayers, who were to be held under the responsibility of the immigration police until removal. Investigators also aimed to identify suspected Indian job brokers, check for additional accommodation sites in the Pattaya area, and examine whether the two men with valid visas were involved in illegal work.
Part of broader crackdown on illegal migration
The Pattaya operation formed part of a broader intensification of checks targeting visa violations and unauthorized employment of foreign nationals. In tourist hubs such as Pattaya, individuals appearing to be holidaymakers had increasingly come under scrutiny, and Chonburi authorities indicated that similar actions would continue in order to curb illegal labor migration and enforce rules against overstayers.