More than 50 Burmese nationals nabbed in border bust

Sangkhla Buri Police, immigration officers, and several agencies successfully apprehended 56 Burmese nationals who allegedly snuck into Thailand through a remote passage in Kanchanaburi.

The sting was sparked by an anonymous tip-off, which revealed that a large group of Burmese nationals were attempting to bypass a subdistrict police checkpoint by trekking through dense forests along the notorious 323 Road.

Upon receiving the crucial information, authorities swiftly mobilised and descended on the area, where they intercepted the group, which included several children. The detained individuals confessed to entering Thailand illegally, driven by the promise of employment in central Thailand.

They revealed that they had each paid 16,000 baht to Burmese agents to orchestrate their risky border crossing. Their plan was to be collected by Thai drivers and transported to various provinces, including Ratchaburi, Samut Sakhon, Samut Songkhram, Nonthaburi, and Bangkok, to secure work.

However, before their plans could come to fruition, police in Kanchanaburi swooped in, preventing them from blending into the Thai labour market.

Thai immigration officers quickly took charge of the situation, preparing to process the group for deportation back to Myanmar, reported Pattaya News.

In related news, a white Mitsubishi Pajero, carrying 19 illegal immigrants, collided with a motorcycle and fled the scene in Lamphun. The incident occurred around 8.40pm last Wednesday, June 12, injuring a mother and her child at the three-way clock tower intersection in Ban Pa Puai, Ban Hong District.

Officers from Ban Hong Police Station and rescue workers from Phutthaisawan Rescue Unit pursued the vehicle but initially failed to apprehend it. Later, locals reported seeing a damaged white vehicle with a burst front-left tyre driving erratically into Ban Hong Hospital.

In other news, police in Sisaket intensified their crackdown on illegal immigrants, focusing on the railway market area. The operation aims to prevent potential threats to the safety of locals and tourists.