SONGKHLA: Eleven Myanmar nationals hoping to get work in Malaysia were arrested near the Thai-Malaysian border in Sadao district.
A team of soldiers, border patrol police and immigration officers found nine men and two women hiding in a forested area at Dan Nok village in tambon Samnak Kham on Friday afternoon, said Col Thanitphon Hongwilai, commander of a military task force, who led the team.
All of them were illegal migrants from Myanmar. They apparently looked exhausted when the arresting team arrived.
The officers took them for Covid-19 testing and their results were negative.
During questioning, the migrants said they had travelled from Mawlamyine township for jobs in Malaysia. They were asked to pay 40,000 baht each by transferring half of the brokerage fees to the job broker in Myanmar first. The remaining sum would be paid when they arrived in Malaysia.
They told the team that they had crossed the border via a natural bordering crossing on foot. After crossing the border, they were told to wait for a pickup truck which would take them to Malaysia.
The migrants were handed over to relevant authorities for further legal proceedings.