Security tight on Tak border after jailbreak in Myanmar

Security tight on Tak border after jailbreak in Myanmar

Forty-one prisoners escaped from this prison in Hpa-An in Myanmar’s Kayin State. Twenty-seven of them remain at large and Thai security authorities are concerned they may flee into Thailand. (Photo from Assawin Pinitwong)
Forty-one prisoners escaped from this prison in Hpa-An in Myanmar’s Kayin State. Twenty-seven of them remain at large and Thai security authorities are concerned they may flee into Thailand. (Photo from Assawin Pinitwong)

TAK: Security was tightened along the Thai-Myanmar border in this northern province on Tuesday following a jailbreak in Hpa-An, the capital of neighbouring Kayin State in Myanmar.

Soldiers stationed near the border, officers at police stations in the border areas, border patrol police and immigration officials at the Mae Sot immigration checkpoint in Mae Sot district were closely monitoring the development of the jailbreak in Myanmar, an informed source said.

They were concerned that 27 of the 41 prison escapees were still at large and would attempt to flee into Thailand.

Fourteen of the escaped prisoners had already been recaptured, including the two shot dead during the breakout. One of the dead prisoners was their leader, the source said.

The prisoners escaped by crashing a hijacked truck through the front gate of the prison.  

The escapees were serving sentences for serious crimes and Thai authorities were concerned they could be a threat to Thai security if they managed to sneak in.

An intelligence report obtained by Thai security authorities in Tak said Hpa-An police had sought urgent cooperation from ethnic minority and border guard forces in Kawkareik and Myawaddy, close to the border with Thailand. They were asked to cooperate by stepping up security screening and searches on roads from Hpa-An to the Thai border.

Myanmar police suspected the escapees were assisted by certain prison officials, who were expected to face an inquiry into their alleged involvement.

Kayin state borders Mae Hong Son, Tak and Kanchanaburi provinces. Mae Sot in Tak is the closest  regular border crossing to Hpa-An.

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