3 Thais arrested for smuggling of 14 Chinese citizens
Police yesterday arrested two Thai men and a Thai woman on Phahonyothin Road in the central province of Nakhon Sawan for people trafficking. The group were spotted using three vehicles to smuggle 14 Chinese citizens without passports from Bangkok to Chiang Mai.
Traffic officers from Mueang Nakhon Sawan Police Station stopped three sedans for a random alcohol test at 4am yesterday at a checkpoint on Phahonyothin Road. During the stop, officers discovered the illegal foreign passengers and requested to see their passports and immigration documents. Unfortunately, none of them had the necessary paperwork.
As a result, all parties were interrogated at Mueang Nakhon Sawan Police Station. The alleged smugglers Phupon, Thawee, and Kanticha, denied they were part of a human trafficking gang. They stated that they provided transportation services to foreign tourists and had been hired by a Thai individual for 24,000 baht to transport 14 Chinese tourists from Bangkok to a hotel in Chiang Mai.
The Chinese citizens informed the officers through an interpreter that they travelled to Thailand via train and wanted to visit Chiang Mai. When asked where they entered Thailand, the group said they did not know.
The police suspected that the Thai group may be involved with a human trafficking gang that transports Chinese people to work in neighbouring countries of Thailand.
Police reported further investigations will be conducted.
The three Thai residents were initially charged with Section 64 of the Immigration Act: whoever assists or hides aliens who illegally enter the kingdom shall be punished with imprisonment of up to five years and a fine of up to 50,000 baht.
The 14 Chinese people were charged under Section 54 of the Immigration Act: any aliens who enter and stay in the kingdom without permission or a permission document has expired or been revoked. Their identities will be recorded by the immigration police before being deported from the country.
