Sa Kaeo: Thirteen Cambodian migrants were arrested yesterday while attempting to cross back into Cambodia without passing through immigration checks.
The migrants, which travelled in three separate groups, said they decided to leave Thailand over concerns about the coronavirus, after learning about the discovery of a new local Covid-19 infection at a Bangkok prison.
The arrests were carried out by a joint team consisting of rangers from the 1201th Ranger Company, Klong Luek police officers and Sa Kaeo immigration officials.
The team normally intercepts migrants attempting to illegally enter Thailand illegally through natural border channels near Rong Kluea border market in Aranyaprathet district. Instead, the team found three separate groups heading the other way.
The officials came across the first group of three migrants as they attempted to slip through a barbed wire fence set up along the border, just behind the market. Four people were arrested later in the same area.
Meanwhile, six Cambodians were arrested after they were spotted by officers walking through the forest near the market. The group told officials that they decided to leave after their relatives urged them to leave Thailand, after hearing news reports about a fresh Covid-19 find in Bangkok.
All 13 migrants were taken for Covid-19 health checks and questioning at the 1201th Ranger Company, as officials phoned Cambodian authorities to escort them back.
Meanwhile, Thailand confirmed six new imported cases of Covid-19, including three Thai men who were previously infected but had been certified virus-free before flying in from Singapore.
The Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration (CCSA) said yesterday the three men -- aged 43, 53 and 56 -- tested positive for the virus after arriving on Friday.
An official at the CCSA said they contracted the virus in Singapore and made a full recovery. They received certificates of good health from the Thai embassy, as required for every person flying into Thailand. It was not immediately clear how the events could have taken place.
The CCSA said three other imported cases were recorded yesterday. They are two Thai nationals, 46 and 83 years old coming back from the US, and a 46-year-old Frenchman who came from the UK.