SONGKHLA: Twenty illegal Myanmar migrants hoping to get jobs in Malaysia were arrested at a deserted house in Sadao district of this southern border province.
Immigration and local police raided the house on Ban Chaikhuan Road in tambon Padang Besar on Tuesday on information it was being used to shelter illegal migrants en route to Malaysia.
Twenty young adults, 16 men and 4 women aged 19-26 yrs, were in the house, arresting officlals said. All were undocumented and from Myanmar. They were sitting in groups of 3-4 in different corners with coloured ribbons around their wrists indicating where they were from.
They told police via an interpreter that they had travelled from various towns in Myanmar to seek jobs in Malaysia. They had entered Thailand using a natural border crossing in Prachuap Khiri Khan. Job brokers provided a pickup truck to take them to tambon Padang Besar in Sadao district, on the Malaysian border.
They were hiding in the deserted house awaiting transport to Malaysia. They said they had paid 20,000 baht each to job brokers for work on construction sites, fishing vessels or plantations.
Police charged them with illegal entry. The investigation was extended to those who smuggled them into Thailand.
Twenty Myanmar job seekers -16 men and 4 women -take refuge at this deserted house in Sadao district, Songkhla pending transportation to Malaysia. (Photo: Assawin Pakkawan)