207 arrested in labor crackdown

PHUKET TOWN: More than 200 Burmese have been arrested this week by the Phuket Immigration Police as part of national crackdown on illegal workers launched on February 10. Pol Maj Gen Ukrit Phatchimsawas, Deputy Commissioner of the Immigration Bureau of the Royal Thai Police (RTP), visited officers at the Phuket Immigration Office today to check on local progress in the three-month campaign to eradicate illegal labor across the country. Netted this week were 206 Burmese workers and one Cambodian. Gen Ukrit told the Gazette that police expect to arrest more than 35,000 illegal workers nationwide. “I’m taking care of the Southern provinces,” he said. “Phuket is the first I have visited since the policy was launched. “Most illegal workers in Phuket are smuggled in over the Sarasin bridge, so we will coordinate with the provincial police and set up more checkpoints in that area,” he added. Gen Urkit urged anyone with information on businesses employing illegal workers to contact the Immigration Police at 076-221905.