Teen’s high-risk hustle: 16 year old busted smuggling 14 Burmese migrant workers in stolen ride

A 16 year old boy has been caught in Ayutthaya for smuggling 14 Burmese migrant workers in a stolen vehicle, in exchange for a fee of 15,000 baht (US$429). Highway Police yesterday noticed a suspicious grey Isuzu MU-X with Phitsanulok registration, which looked overloaded compared to regular vehicles.

The teenage driver attempted to evade the police, who signalled for the vehicle to stop, using flashing red lights, siren, and loudspeaker instructions. Despite accelerating the vehicle to escape, the young driver was unable to elude the police who ordered him to stop for an inspection.

Inside the vehicle, police found a 16 year old driving, with 14 Burmese male and female migrant workers seated in the back. A thorough inspection revealed no travel documents, passport, or relevant permissions to enter the kingdom.

Interrogation of the migrant workers via an interpreter revealed that they had illegally crossed the Moei River to enter Thailand. From Mae Sot district in Tak province, they were guided to a vehicle to reach their job destinations in Thailand. The smugglers, Burmese brokers, arranged their entry to Thailand for approximately 30,000 baht (US$858), reported KhaoSod.

The teen driver, a resident of Wang Chao district in Tak province, confessed that it was his first time undertaking such a task for a flat fee of 15,000 baht. He received a phone call offering him money to transport the migrant workers to Ayutthaya province. Subsequently, he decided to steal his father’s car and drove from Tak province, following a GPS route provided by an unknown individual. He was supposed to pick up the migrant workers from Nakhon Sawan province and drop them off at an unspecified location in Ayutthaya province.

However, police arrested him before he could complete his task.

Preliminary charges against the teen include facilitating illegal entry of foreigners into the kingdom, reckless driving, endangering other people, and violating the Motor Vehicle Act (driving without a license).

The smuggled migrant workers were charged with unauthorized entry and stay in the kingdom and were handed over to the Bang Pa-In Police Station for further legal proceedings.