26 illegal immigrants found hidden in corn truck in Mae Sot
A joint operation by the Ratchamanu Task Force, police, and the district administration successfully apprehended 26 illegal immigrants today, January 30, concealed in a corn truck in Mae Sot district, Tak province.
The incident occurred at 11pm when the Ratchamanu Task Force, part of the Naresuan Force, set up a checkpoint in Ban Huai Fon. During this operation, a truck carrying corn with the registration 70-5887 Kamphaeng Phet, covered securely by a tarp, was stopped.
The driver, identified as 40 year old Nichaphon, displayed suspicious behaviour when confronted at the checkpoint. This prompted the officers to search the vehicle, revealing 26 foreign workers hidden among the agricultural produce.
Further questioning revealed that people had crossed the border on foot through natural paths, timing their entry after patrols had passed. They had been picked up by a Thai middleman intending to transport them to Bangkok for work, reported KhaoSod.
Following the discovery, both the driver and the illegal immigrants were detained. They were handed over to the investigation officers at Mae Sot Police Station for legal proceedings and eventual repatriation.
In similar news, in Songkhla, police in Chana district apprehended 10 illegal migrants from Myanmar and two Thai drivers as they attempted to travel to Malaysia in search of employment.
The arrests were made on Saturday, January 25, by a team comprising immigration and highway police, who intercepted a Honda sedan and a Mitsubishi Pajero on a local road in tambon Taling Chan.
The operation followed a tip-off indicating that two vehicles were involved in smuggling migrants from Chana to Thepa district, according to Police Colonel Chanokruadee Pongsiri, superintendent of Highway Police Division 7. The Thai drivers were identified as 44 year old Donjaras Marnbao and 30 year old Nurhasan Dee-mae.
Donjaras was driving the Honda sedan, which acted as a lookout vehicle, while Nurhasan was in the Pajero, transporting seven men and three women from Myanmar. Both drivers and all the Myanmar nationals have been taken into police custody for further legal proceedings.
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