Highway Police in the Northern Province of Phrae have arrested 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 a pickup truck was carrying foreigners who had illegally entered the country.

He said an all-points bulletin (APB) was sent to checkpoints in Phrae to look for suspicious trucks from Chiang Mai that may be carrying illegal workers.

At approximately 1 a.m., 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. They all 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 with 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 an undisclosed amount.

He said he agreed to transport the Burmese people because he was desperate and needed money to support his family after floods destroyed their homes and crops.

The foreign workers told the 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. Soldiers surrounded the entrances and exits of their village.

Before this, they had all worked in Thailand for over 10 years and then returned. Initially, the officers took all the foreign workers and suspects to the Den Chai Police Station for legal proceedings.