PRACHUAP KHIRIKHAN: A Myanmar man was arrested after he illegally crossed the border into Thailand through a natural pass in Muang district with 20 kilogrammes of kratom, a kind of narcotic plant, police said.
A combined unit of border patrol police and administrative officials was patrolling near Ban Hup Phueng, a village near a natural pass on the Thai-Myanmar border, when the man was spotted carrying a shoulder bag.
The man was identified as San Nyunt, 45, a Myanmar national who had just entered Thailand through the natural border crossing.
Police said the bag contained about 20 kilogrammes of ground kratom leaves. Kratom is a mild narcotic plant categorised as an illegal drug in Thailand.
He was taken to a police station where he was charged with illegal entry and possession of illicit drugs.
Kaew Kongwong, chief of the defence office of Prachuap Khiri Khan, said the province had stepped up surveillance of the border with Myanmar to guard against illegal entry by migrant workers in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic.