KANCHANABURI: Six more illegal migrants from Myanmar and their two Thai guides were arrested in Sangkhla Buri district yesterday.
Soldiers from the Lat Ya task force, along with police and local officials spotted the group walking along a road in tambon Prangphae about 8.30am yesterday.
Six of them -- five men and one woman -- were illegal migrants from Myanmar, while the other two were Thai nationals, identified as Supanee Maphuk, 29, and a 16-year-old male, both from Sangkhla Buri district. All were detained for questioning.
The migrants told police that they had travelled from Myanmar to work in Ratchaburi, Samut Sakhon and Samut Songkhram, after having paid 6,000 baht each to a job broker. Ms Supanee and the teenager were sent to lead them across the border, they said.
When the migrants arrived at the agreed meeting point, they were asked to pay additional "transfer" fees, which varied depending on their destination. Health officials checked the entire group for signs of a fever and all had normal temperatures. They were later handed over to local police for legal action.
Last Saturday, 59 Myanmar nationals, including two boys, were arrested for illegal entry in Sangkhla Buri district, while a Myanmar man who had guided them across the border managed to flee. The migrants told Thai authorities that they had contacted a job broker to help find work in Thailand. The broker charged them 13,000-20,000 baht each, depending on their destination.