12 people arrested for allegedly illegally crossing Thai-Myanmar border

12 Thais were arrested by Chaing Rai Immigration Police for allegedly illegally crossing the Myanmar border back into Thailand. The arrests follow a small coronavirus outbreak in Northern Thailand while Myanmar reports hundreds of new Covid-19 cases each day.

Over the weekend, a 29 year old Thai woman tested positive for Covid-19 in Chiang Mai after visiting the hospital with flu-like symptoms. She recently returned to Thailand from Myanmar where she worked at a bar in Tachileik. 2 other women, ages 23 and 26, worked at the same bar tested positive for Covid-19 after returning to Thailand, Chiang Rai public health officials reported today.

Of the 12 people recently arrested for illegally crossing the Thai-Myanmar border, 4 of them were arrested yesterday after a woman made a post on Facebook saying her and her friends used a natural route to cross into Thailand. They allegedly told police they were working illegally in Myanmar.

8 other Thai women were arrested today for illegally crossing the border from Tachileik into Chiang Rai. They allegedly told police that they each paid 6,500 baht to Myanmar traffickers to avoid border checks.

The women told police that most Thais returning home from Myanmar were in the country working at entertainment venues.

SOURCE: Nation Thailand