Highway Police in the Northern Province of Phrae have arrest 4 men from Chiang Mai transporting 16 Burmese migrants fleeing war in Myanmar.
Lt. Col. Siharat Sukhantamalai of the Phrae Highway Police said they received a report from a concerned citizen that there was a pickup truck carrying foreigners who had illegally entered the country.
He said an all points bulletin (APB) was put out to checkpoints in Phrae to be on the lookout for any suspicious trucks from Chiang Mai that may be carrying illegal workers.
At Approximately 1am Highway Police stopped a Toyota Vigo pickup with 4 men inside that matched the description of the APB on the side of Highway marker 11-368 in Mae Jua Subdistrict, Den Chai District, Phrae Province.
The arresting officers ordered an inspection of the pickup and found 16 Burmese migrants, 8 males and 8 females. All of them had temporary border passes to enter the Kingdom, but had to reside in Mae Sai District, Chiang Rai Province.
The Burmese migrants were accused of “staying in the Kingdom without permission” and the 4 men were charged for transporting the Burmese people into another province without proper authority.
The driver identified only as Mr. Jai, 24 told police that he was transporting the Burmese people to Bangkok where he was to be paid un undisclosed amount.
He said he agreed to transport the Burmese people because he need money to support his family after their home and crops were destroyed by floods and he was desperate.
The foreign workers told police that the reason they came to work in Thailand was because they could not live in Myanmar because of the war.
The Myanmar Military had seized their property and the rice fields they used to work and they could not feed their families. The entrances and exits of their village were surrounded by soldiers.
Before this, they had all worked in Thailand for more than 10 years and then returned. Initially, the officers took all the foreign workers and suspects to the Den Chai Police Station for legal proceedings.
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