Police arrest 13 illegal Cambodian migrants in Sa Kaeo border province

Police have arrested 13 illegal Cambodian migrants in the Sa Kaeo border province after a patrol team spotted some of them at 2am in the morning. The Burapha Task Force spotted 5 of the migrants in Ban Nong Phai village of Ta Phraya sub district after stopping a grey Toyota Fortuner that was registered in Bangkok.

According to police, the vehicle’s Thai driver said he would send the migrants to Nonthaburi, Bangkok and Nakhon Nayok amongst other provinces.The migrants reportedly told police they paid 3,000 baht for an alleged human trafficker to transport them into Thailand. Officials say they sent the arrested migrants to the Ta Phraya police station to be prosecuted, but there was no word on whether the Thai driver would be charged as well.

Such a crackdown on illegal migrant arrests have come after Thailand has been trying to seal its borders to prevent the spread of Covid after neighbouring countries, such as Myanmar, have seen a recent spike in cases. Just over 2 weeks ago, Thai authorities arrested 23 Cambodian migrants after they were found in a forest after allegedly crossing the border.

SOURCE: Pattaya Mail