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2026-10-15 15:45 UTC → 2026-10-16 18:32 UTC ·
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A Portuguese woman was arrested in Phuket, Thailand, after Thai immigration officers discovered she had overstayed her visa authorities have intensified enforcement actions against foreign nationals for approximately five years. Officers identified the individual during a check long-term visa violations across multiple regions. In Phuket, Portuguese national and former reality TV contestant Daniela Pimenta was detained at a restaurant in the Ko Kaeo subdistrict. Although she could not present while attending a physical passport, her identity was confirmed via biometric cooking lesson. Biometric data and a digital photograph of her documents. Records show she entered the country in March 2020 under a 30-day visa exemption and obtained one extension before failing to apply for further renewals. She is currently in custody pending deportation. Recent reports have identified the woman as former reality TV contestant Daniela Pimenta. Authorities confirmed through biometric systems that she had overstayed her permitted stay for exactly 1,807 days. This arrest is part of days after entering in March 2020. In a broader enforcement action by Thai immigration authorities targeting multiple foreign nationals for long-term visa violations across various regions. Other recent detentions include separate Phuket operation, a 55-year-old Chinese national, Mr. Wang, who was apprehended in a remote jungle hideout in the Karon area of Phuket after overstaying Karon. He had overstayed by 1,793 days; he days and is reportedly the subject of to an international arrest warrant from China regarding illegal casino operations. Additionally, a 42-year-old Chinese man, Mr. Liu, was arrested at a hotel in Bangkok hotel for living illegally in the country since January 2020 while using an expired passport. In Surat Thani province, immigration officers arrested five African women—three Ugandans and two Tanzanians—at a hotel near Chaweng Beach on Koh Samui. The arrests followed reports of foreign women soliciting tourists for sexual services in nightlife areas. The women, whose overstays ranged from 105 to 799 days, stated they originally entered on tourist visas intending to work as English teachers but sought other employment after failing to secure teaching positions. The suspects admitted to the offenses and have been transferred to the Bo Phut Police Station.