TAK: Forty-three Myanmar nationals were arrested after illegally crossing the border in three groups into Muang and Mae Sot districts of this northern border province on Monday, police said.
The first group of 13 were arrested after police from Mae Tho station in Muang district gave chase to a black Isuzu pickup which ran through a checkpoint on Phahon Yothin road in tambon Nong Bua Tai, heading for the Kittikachorn bridge.
The fleeing pickup was overtaken and stopped at the King Taksin Hospital intersection in tambon Rahaeng, Muang district.
Thirteen Myanmar nationals were found in the pickup, which was driven by a woman identified only as Akhue, 37, of Tak's Wang Chao district. Of the 13, three were positive for Covid-19 according to an antigen test.
In Mae Sot district, a village security team from Ban Nong Bua, the Moo 7 village in tambon Mae Pa, searched an abandoned house and found 15 Myanmar nationals, nine men and six women.
They were waiting for guides to lead them to workplaces inside Thailand as promised by job brokers.
Also on Monday, a Toyoya Vigo pickup loaded with bagged vegetables was stopped for a search at the Huay Ya-u checkpoint, manned by soldiers from the 14th Infantry Regiment, on the Tak-Mae Sot road in tambon Dan Mae Lamao of Mae Sot district. A Thai man identified as Roon, 50, was the driver.
Eight men, six women and a boy were found hiding in a space created inside the cargo.
All Myanmar nationals arrested on Monday admitted to entering the country illegally via natural border crossings after having each paid money to brokers who promised them jobs in Thailand.
They were handed over to Muang and Mae Sot police for legal proceedings, pending deportation.
The Thai drivers caught with the job seekers were charged with giving help to foreigners who entered the country illegally.
A soldier and a police officer examine the pickup truck loaded with vegetables, where they found a hidden compartment and 15 illegal border crossers. (Photo: Assawin Pinitwong)