NARATHIWAT: Eleven Myanmar men who said they had been working on trawlers in Malaysia have been arrested in Sungai Kolok district after illegally crossing the Sungai Kolok River into Thailand.
They could produce no travel documents or passports when asked, officials said.
They were taken for Covid-19 screening. None exhibited a fever.
The arresting team was led by Rungruang Thimabut, chief of Sungai Kolok district.
He said a local resident spotted a group of people crossing the river from Malaysia via a pier. They were caught and charged with illegal entry.
The 11 men said they had worked on fishing boats in Malaysia.
The spread of Covid-19 in Malaysia had driven job brokers there to smuggle their migrant workers into Thailand, the district chief said.