Ayutthaya police intercept illegal Myanmar migrants paying 8,000 to 10,000 baht
Police in Ayutthaya intercepted a group of 31 illegal Myanmar migrant workers, who admitted paying between 8,000 and 10,000 baht each to find work in the city.
Yesterday, February 5, Police Colonel Eknirut Wansiripak, head of Highway Police Division 1, discovered an operation transporting illegal foreign workers into Thailand.
The migrants crossed the border on foot through natural paths, where vehicles awaited to transport them to Bangkok and its surrounding areas. The police were instructed to investigate and intercept this illegal activity.
Highway police patrolling the Asian Highway towards Bangkok, near kilometre marker six in Bang Pa-in district, Ayutthaya province, noticed a white van and a grey SUV driving at high speed nearby. Both vehicles appeared heavily laden. The police pursued and radioed for backup to assist in stopping the vehicles, which successfully halted both.
The driver of the van, 32 year old Sai Mien Tu, a Myanmar national, was found transporting 24 Myanmar migrants tightly packed inside, with the van’s seats removed to accommodate more passengers. In the SUV, driven by 29 year old Phanuwat Wongsa from Chiang Rai province, seven Myanmar migrants were found. None of the passengers had passports or travel documents.
Both drivers confessed to being hired by an unidentified Thai to pick up the migrants in Mae Sai district, Chiang Rai province, and deliver them to Pathum Thani province. Sai Mien Tu received 8,000 baht (US$240) for the job, while Phanuwat claimed he had not yet been paid.
The migrants revealed they had walked across the border into Chiang Rai, where Thai and Myanmar contacts arranged for vehicles to take them to their intended work destinations, costing each person between 8,000 and 10,000 baht (US$240 to US$300), reported KhaoSod.
The police have detained both drivers and handed them over to investigators at Bang Pa-in Police Station to face charges of knowingly harbouring illegal migrants. The migrant workers are being charged with entering and residing in the kingdom without permission.
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