KANCHANABURI: Eleven illegal job seekers from Myanmar were caught hiding in plastic containers on the back of a pickup truck in Sai Yok district of this western border province on Sunday.
About 3.30pm, a combined civilian-police-military unit signalled a pickup to stop on Tha Madua-Lam Sai road near Moo 2 village in tambon Si Mongkol, Sai Yok district.
The driver tried to speed away but pulled over after the authorities gave chase.
A search uncovered five people hiding inside a 1,000-litre plastic tank and two others in each of two 200-litre barrels on the back of the pickup.
Two other Myanmar nationals were sitting in the front with the Thai driver, Prasit Klahan, 62, a native of Sai Yok district.
None of them had travel documents.
Mr Prasit said a man offered him 1,500 baht to take the 11 migrants from Thung Chang village to an intersection at Ban Kao in tambon Nong Bua in Muang district of Kanchanaburi.
From there, they were to be taken to jobs arranged for them in Samut Sakhon province.
Mr Prasit was charged with concealing and helping illegal migrants evade arrest.
The job seekers were charged with illegal entry and violating the Communicable Disease Act and the provincial announcement issued under the emergency decree to contain the Covid-19 pandemic.