Ex-Village Chief Caught Smuggling 1.4 Tons Chicken Offal to Cambodia
Soldiers in Sa Kaeo arrested a former village headman, recently released from prison for human smuggling, for attempting to transport 1.4 tons of chicken offal to Cambodia without permits.
Military officers on patrol in Sa Kaeo province arrested a former village headman who had just been released from prison for smuggling 1.4 tons of chicken offal to Cambodia. On October 20, 2026, soldiers patrolling in Tambon Fak Huay, Aranyaprathet District, Sa Kaeo Province, spotted a green pickup truck bearing a Tha Kham Subdistrict Municipality, Chachoengsao Province license plate with its cargo bed covered by a black tarp. They stopped the vehicle for inspection. The driver was identified as Chesta Ngam-bun-kam, alias "Phu Yai Phet," former headman of Non Khi Lek Village, Tambon Phan Suek, Aranyaprathet District. Upon inspecting the truck bed, officers found 120 crates of chicken offal weighing 12 kilograms each, totaling 1,440 kilograms or 1.44 tons. When asked for documents permitting the transport of animal carcasses, Chesta produced none and refused to make any statement. Officials suspected he was attempting to smuggle the entire shipment across the border into Cambodia. He was arrested and all evidence seized, then handed to Aranyaprathet Police Station for prosecution. A background check revealed Chesta had previously been arrested for smuggling Cambodian workers into Thailand and had only recently completed his sentence before being caught again transporting chicken offal without permits.
