A BRITISH teenager is feared to have been lured into working at a scam factory by the Chinese mafia after going missing from Thailand.
Computer whizz Lawrence Honour, 19, was last seen leaving a hotel in Kanchanaburi, western Thailand, before trying to bust into neighbouring Myanmar on September 27.
Asia Pacific Press via ViralPressLawrence Honour, 19, has been missing for over a week[/caption]
Lawrence was last seen leaving a hotel in western Thailand before trying to cross the border into MyanmarAsia Pacific Press via ViralPress
His parents haven’t seen him or heard from him since – and have issued a desperate plea for information.
Thai police officers are searching for the youngster amid fears he is being held in one of the notorious call centre factories.
Controlled by Chinese gangs and Burmese militia, workers are subjected to brutal hours, torture and extortion.
Lawrence’s mum Gulnara Honour, who lives in Thailand with the teen’s British father Julian Honour, said: “Lawrence left home on September 26 and we were unable to contact him.
“I filed a report at Pattaya City Police Station.
“I checked my son’s email and found records of his movements in Kanchanaburi province, which was very worrying.
“He’s a very shy and quiet boy but he is excellent with computers.
“I’m afraid that he has spoken to people online and be tricked into going to one of these scam centres in Myanmar, where they don’t let people leave.”
Lawrence was seen on CCTV leaving a hotel resort in Kanchanaburi on September 27 at around 3.30 pm.
He then attempted to enter Myanmar but was sent back by border guards because the crossing was closed by the conflict.
Authorities then caught him allegedly trying to scale a fence into the country and sent him away.
Witnesses said he was seen hitchhiking that evening before being picked up by a passing teacher.
Officers are now searching for the driver who is believed to have scooped him up.
Police Colonel Santi Phitaksakul, superintendent of Sangkhlaburi district station, said: “The boy’s mother said she still has hope. She doesn’t know how he came here.
Asia Pacific Press via ViralPressThai police have launched an urgent search for the boy[/caption]
Lawrence was described as ‘very shy’ but a whizz with computersAsia Pacific Press via ViralPress
“‘The last time she was able to contact him, he was already in Sangkhlaburi.
“Someone later saw him at Sai Yok Waterfall, where he was hitchhiking and said he was heading toward the border.
“A Thai driver who passed by wanted to help, so he gave him a ride.
“We now believe he may have crossed into Myanmar. Immigration officers at the border reported that he came to the checkpoint and tried to leave, but they didn’t allow him to exit because the border was closed.
“They arranged for him to be put on a van to return home, but it turned out he never got on because police later checked with the van company and confirmed he didn’t buy a ticket.
“Witnesses said he waited around for a while, and when someone asked what he was doing, he said he was waiting for a friend. But he couldn’t cross, as officers had refused him.
“At this stage, police have asked the military to coordinate with Myanmar to help locate him.
“Informants have reported sightings of someone resembling him in Myanmar, and we are waiting for confirmation.
“As for why he went there, there are many possibilities. He may have been persuaded by someone; it doesn’t seem like he went just for tourism.
“We need to trace his movements to verify whether he went to a casino or elsewhere.
“It is suspected he may have crossed through natural routes, possibly with the help of people on the Myanmar side who know the paths well.”
Call centre scam factories have sprung up in Myanmar, formerly Burma, since the military coup in February 2021.
In September 2025, the US Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) identified nine targets operating in Shwe Kokko, Myanmar – along with ten entities in Cambodia for their roles in large-scale scam operations.