Twenty-three more job seekers from Myanmar were arrested after they crossed the border into Mae Fa Luang and Mae Sai districts of Chiang Rai late Thursday night and early Friday.
A patrol from the Pha Muang Task Force stopped a group of eight people at Payang Muser village Moo 16 in tamb on Mae Fa Luang early on Friday. There were two men and six women. All were Myanmar nationals. All had crossed the border illegally.
They told questioners they had travelled from Tachilek town in Myanmar, opposite Mae Sai district, and were heading for jobs in Bangkok. They had paid 23,000 baht to a Myanmar guide.
In Mae Sai district, another patrol found 15 people illegally crossing the Sai River from Tachilek town to Thailand late on Thursday night. The 10 men and five women were all Myanmar nationals.
They told soldiers they had come from Shan State in Myanmar to get jobs in Bangkok. Each had paid 3,000 baht to a guide.
The illegal migrants were all handed over to local police for legal processing and then deportation.