Thai police apprehend 16 Myanmar migrants and four smugglers

Sixteen illegal migrants from Myanmar and four Thai smugglers were apprehended early today after the migrants were found crammed into a pickup truck at a drug checkpoint in Phayuha Khiri district, Nakhon Sawan.

Drug suppression police, stationed at the checkpoint, flagged down a black pickup with Bangkok licence plates around 1am. Acting on information that two suspected vehicles were travelling from Mae Sot district in Tak province along Phahonyothin Road, the officers decided to search.

Police Colonel Paitoon Ngamlap, chief of the Narcotics Suppression Bureau’s drug interdiction unit, confirmed this sequence of events.

Inside the vehicle, officers discovered three Thai men: 48 year old driver Winai Wana-awut and two youths. The vehicle was reportedly leading another pickup approximately 10 kilometres away. The men were detained for questioning.

The second suspected pickup, also with Bangkok licence plates, arrived at the checkpoint later. Police halted the vehicle and found 27 year old Thai national Payut Thaokrasasin behind the wheel.

Officers discovered 16 Myanmar nationals—10 men and six women—concealed in a compartment within the bed of the vehicle. All were identified as illegal migrants.

Winai informed the police that he had been hired by an unnamed man for 10,000 baht (US$275) to transport the migrants from Mae Sot to Ayutthaya province, where someone would meet them and escort them to their workplaces, reported Bangkok Post.

The four Thai men were initially charged with assisting illegal migrants to enter the country without permission and aiding them in evading arrest. The 16 migrants faced charges of illegal entry. All individuals were taken into police custody for legal proceedings.

In related news, Thai police intercepted eight illegal immigrants attempting to enter the country, revealing they were hired by an employer. The individuals have been detained and will face legal proceedings.

The Ratchamanu Special Task Force (STF) conducted a patrol in Mae Sot district, Tak province on June 30, at 9.30pm. While monitoring the area, officials noticed a suspicious black Toyota pickup truck parked on a dirt road.