The Thai military has presented a large cache of materials recovered from a Cambodian complex seized during border clashes late last year, describing the site as a major centre for transnational online fraud.
Senior officers briefed reporters and foreign delegates in Surin province on Monday, outlining what they said was extensive evidence of organised criminal activity at the O’Smach compound. Lieutenant General Teeranan Nandhakwang, director general of the Royal Thai Army’s Directorate of Intelligence, said the briefing was intended to demonstrate the scale of the operation.
“The reason we are showing this place today is that we want the world to see how it’s being used as a criminal base against humanity,” Lieutenant General Teeranan told reporters.
Journalists were escorted through a damaged six storey building that Thai forces occupied during fighting in late 2025. Inside, soldiers pointed to scattered documents, including lists of apparent potential victims with contact details, along with scripts used in online scam conversations.
Thai officials said the O’Smach site housed thousands of people, many of whom were victims of human trafficking forced to conduct online fraud under threat of punishment. The complex had previously been identified by the United States as being linked to trafficking and forced criminality.
Among the items recovered were 871 SIM cards used for anonymous international communication, dozens of smartphones, counterfeit police insignia, and police uniforms. Reporters also observed rooms arranged to resemble police offices from several countries, including Brazil, China, and Australia, which officials said were used to impersonate law enforcement during fraud schemes.
The disclosure comes amid heightened tensions along the Thai Cambodian border. In 2025, clashes escalated over long standing territorial disputes, with Thai forces targeting casino complexes they alleged were used both as scam centres and as sites for weapons storage and attacks.
The fighting, described by officials as the most serious in years between the two countries, ended with a ceasefire in late December 2025. The truce allowed Thai troops to secure and inspect sites such as O’Smach.
Border areas across Southeast Asia, particularly between Thailand, Myanmar, and Cambodia, have become global hubs for online fraud in recent years. These operations generate billions of dollars annually through schemes that often rely on trafficked workers from multiple countries.
O’Smach attracted international scrutiny in September 2024 when the US Department of the Treasury sanctioned the O’Smach Resort and its owner, Cambodian senator and tycoon Ly Yong Phat. The sanctions cited serious human rights abuses, including forced labour linked to online scam operations.
Cambodia has faced increasing pressure to dismantle the industry. Touch Sokhak, a spokesperson for Cambodia’s interior ministry, told Reuters that Thailand had used scam centres as a justification for military action. He said Cambodian authorities were actively cracking down on the industry and had pledged to eradicate it before April.
Thai officials said the exposure of the compound was intended to disrupt criminal networks exploiting vulnerable people while targeting victims across the world. They described the operation as having sophisticated infrastructure, workflows, and tactics designed to sustain large scale fraud.
The case highlights the continuing challenge posed by cyber enabled crime and human trafficking in the region, and the way these activities intersect with unresolved geopolitical tensions.
About the Author
