CHIANG MAI: Sixty-one more Myanmar nationals were arrested for illegal entry near the border in Fang district on Wednesday morning.
Soldiers from the Pha Muang Task Force spotted the group walking through the forest and stopped them for questioning.
The were 24 men, 24 women, 7 boys and 6 girls.
During questioning, they said they wanted to get work in Thailand so they could live better lives, like other compatriots who had worked in the kingdom.
Maj Gen Narit Thawornwong, commander of the Pha Muang Task Force, said many people from Myanmar had illegally crossed the border into Chiang Mai over the past two months.
They were heading for jobs in factories, in agriculture, at markets and construction camps.
Most were using two natural border crossings, at Ban Luang in Fang district and Kiew Pha Wok in Chiang Dao district, he said.
Official crossings along the land border with Myanmar are closed to most traffic.
(Photo supplied: Panumet Tanraksa)