Burmese migrants, heading for Malaysia, stopped in Chumphon
Police and soldiers in Chumphon have arrested 37 Burmese people who were heading to Malaysia.
Security forces, including troops from the 44th Army Circle, checked a wooded location where residents had seen a group of strangers in a makeshift camp.
The 33 men and four women had no travel documents and appeared exhausted in their rough camp behind a deserted factory off Phetkasem Road in Moo 8.
They were taken to Tha Sae police station for questioning and claimed they’d come from Koh Song and were waiting to be driven to Hat Yai in Songkhla, and then to be smuggled across the border into Malaysia.
They claim they’d paid 25,000 baht each to a gang of smugglers. They’d spent five days crossing the sea and transiting forests before they were found. They now face legal charges and deportation.
SOURCE: The Nation
