Thai police arrest driver smuggling 18 migrants in Kanchanaburi
Police conducted a dramatic roadside chase in Kanchanaburi, capturing a Thai driver transporting 18 illegal migrants in a single vehicle. The 29 year old driver was apprehended after attempting to evade police.
The operation began when senior police officers received intelligence about a group smuggling stolen vehicles across the border and illegally transporting foreign workers into Thailand.
Responding to the tip-off, law enforcement officers, including Police Major General Khongkrit Lertsitthikul, Police Colonel Phakphon Suchon, Police Lieutenant Colonel Norot Yuwaboon, Police Lieutenant Colonel Krit Theerawetsuwan, and Police Captain Joe Saoprakorn, coordinated a plan to intercept the suspected vehicle.
At around 8am, yesterday, December 5, while patrolling a rural road in Singha subdistrict, Sai Yok district, Kanchanaburi province, officers spotted a suspicious black Mazda BT-50 pickup truck with registration number 127 Nakhon Pathom. The vehicle appeared heavily loaded and its rear was covered with a black net, raising suspicions of illicit cargo.
Police signalled for the driver to stop for inspection but instead he accelerated, initiating a high-speed pursuit.
Officers maintained proximity and called for reinforcements from nearby highway patrol units to assist in the apprehension.
After approximately 2 kilometres, the chase concluded when the suspect turned into a dead-end alley in To Mai Daeng Village, Ban Kao subdistrict, Mueang district, Kanchanaburi province. Cornered, the police were able to arrest Chinnakorn Saensikamuan, the vehicle’s driver.
A search of the pickup revealed 11 migrants crammed inside the cabin and another seven concealed under luggage and a black net in the truck’s bed.
During questioning, Chinnakorn confessed to having picked up the migrants from Sangkhla Buri district, Kanchanaburi province at around 5am, and was en route to deliver them to Mueang Kanchanaburi district, where another party was scheduled to continue their transport, reported KhaoSod.
Some of the migrants, who could communicate in Thai, admitted they had entered Thailand through natural border crossings and were seeking employment in Samut Sakhon Province and Malaysia, said Chinnakorn.
“I picked up the foreign workers from Sangkhla Buri early in the morning, intending to deliver them to Kanchanaburi City.”
Highway police transferred Chinnakorn to the Mueang Kanchanaburi Police Station for formal charges of aiding and abetting illegal immigration. Meanwhile, all 18 migrants faced charges for entering the Kingdom of Thailand without permission.
Latest Thailand News
