RANONG: Seven illegal job seekers from Myanmar were arrested near the border in Muang district of this southern province in the early hours of Thursday.
A team of navy officers, border patrol police and security officials found four men and three women hiding near a natural border crossing in Sam Laem village of tambon Pak Nam at around 1am on Thursday.
The officers were dispatched there following information that a group of people believed to be illegal migrants were seen in the area, said the Thai Maritime Enforcement Command Centre Region 3.
None of the seven migrants were able to produce identification documents when asked. They were taken to the 415th border patrol police outpost for questioning.
They told officers that five of them had travelled from Chin State in Myanmar to Kawthoung town on March 23 while the two others came from Kawthoung. They then boarded a long-tailed boat to Ranong province on Wednesday night.
Two of them who planned to work at a fish pier in Ranong had already paid 5,000 baht each to job brokers. The other five had yet to pay 8,000 baht each for construction jobs in Chumphon province
The migrants underwent Covid-19 tests before being handed over to Pak Nam police station in Muang district of Ranong for legal proceedings.