Police in Mae Chan Chiang Rai have arrested the drivers of two vehicles after they were caught transporting Myanmar nationals beyond the legal limits of their border passes.

Pol. Col. Kiatsak Chitprasarn, Superintendent of Mae Chan Police Station, told reporters that the drivers of two vehicles transporting foreigners into Thailand were arrested and prosecuted on charges of “using or citing forged official documents and resisting an official’s order.”

Pol. Col. Kiatsak said a team of police officers at the Tha Khao Pluek checkpoint in Mae Chan District spotted a gray Toyota Revo pickup truck with Chiang Mai license plates coming from the border of Chiang Saen District and heading towards Mae Chan District.

The officers ordered the truck driver to stop for inspection, but he sped through the checkpoint and fled. The officers chased the truck for approximately 5 kilometers until they could intercept it.

Upon inspecting the pickup, they discovered the driver, Mr. Boonmee, who held a registered status card, and 11 Myanmar nationals crammed together in the back seat. Each person had a temporary border pass but had traveled beyond the designated area limited to their passes.

Police also discovered that the license plate did not match the vehicle. When asked, Mr. Boonmee confessed that he had switched the license plates to avoid detection by the officers.

Later, at the same checkpoint, police officers encountered a gray Ford pickup truck with switched license plates driving from the same direction, so they called it in for inspection. They found 12 Myanmar nationals and Mr. Sommai, the driver with no registered status.

The officers took both men into custody for legal action.

The Myanmar nationals were cautioned about traveling past the limits of their border passes, then taken back to the border area of Mae Sai and released without charge.