Kanchanaburi: Soldiers, police, and the Public Sector Development Commission (PCD) collaborated to intercept 70 Myanmar migrant workers who were attempting to enter the country illegally under the cover of night. The workers confessed to plans to work illegally in Samut Sakhon and Samut Prakan provinces, having each paid brokers 15,000 baht upon arrival.

According to Thai News Agency, Maj. Gen. Atsawut Panyarachun, Commander of the 9th Infantry Division and the Surasee Task Force, along with Kanchanaburi Governor Athisan Intra, received intelligence about the smuggling of illegal workers from the Kanchanaburi Province border into the country. In response, Col. Pansak Preawphanit of the 29th Infantry Regiment and the Lat Ya Task Force, supported by Col. Piyanes Phattharasasawatwong, coordinated with the 134th Border Patrol Police Company, Sangkhlaburi District Administrative Organization, and Sangkhlaburi Provincial Police to patrol the suspected areas.

At approximately 11:00 PM, patrolling officers in a pomelo orchard in Songkalia Village, Nong Lu Subdistrict, Sangkhla Buri District, observed a group resembling illegal aliens emerging from a natural passage. Upon investigation, 70 individuals of Myanmar nationality (48 men and 22 women) were found without Thai language skills or identification documents, leading to their detention.

Interrogation with an interpreter revealed the group had traveled from Yangon and Mandalay provinces in Myanmar, crossing illegally via natural routes into Ban Bo Yipun in Sangkhlaburi District. They avoided security checkpoints, intending to meet an unidentified car to transport them further into the country’s interior. Their goal was to find work in Samut Sakhon and Samut Prakan, facilitated by a broker’s fee of 15,000 baht each. However, authorities intercepted them before reaching their intended destinations.

The officers proceeded to detain the individuals for profiling and transferred them to Sangkhlaburi Police Station for further investigation and legal proceedings.