SURAT THANI: Immigration police checking an overloaded van on Monday found eight illegal Myanmar migrants hiding inside it, each with a fake passport, police said on Tuesday.
Thai driver Sarot Rakdee, 39, was arrested for people-trafficking while the eight migrants were held for illegal entry.
Immigration police had stopped the van in Surat Thani’s Ban Na Doem district after noticing it was carrying more than the permitted seven passengers, Immigration Division 6 commander Pol Maj Gen Peeravas Boonloy said.
Mr Sarote told police he was hired to deliver the migrants and their counterfeit passports from Kanchanaburi to Surat Thani and Songkhla provinces for 2,200 baht per individual.
He collected them from their rented house in Muang district and delivered one woman to Surat Thani’s Chaiya district. On arriving at Ban Na Doem, his vehicle was stopped and checked by immigration police and the other illegal immigrants discovered inside.
Each of the migrants was carrying his own passport, while another passport for each of them was found in the glove compartment.
The migrants were identified as Phon Myint Aung, 26, Kon Balai, 31, Su Myint Mon, 19, San Myint, 38, San Hboo, 30, Win Aung, 30, Myo Lwin, 19, Lwin Ko, 29.
The driver was charged with knowingly assisting illegal migrant workers, possessing fake passports and driving the wrong type of vehicle.
His passengers were charged with entering and residing in the country without permission, and using fake passports and immigration stamps.
The suspects were sent to Ban Na Doem police station.
Pol Maj Gen Peeravas said said the operation was in line with immigration chief Sompong Chingduang's order to suppress immigration violations that threaten the country’s security.
Under the policy, Immigration police have deployed "smart" patrol cars equipped with tablet and notebook computers accessing databases for instant criminal-record checks on immigrants.