Brothers arrested over Prachuap Khiri Khan pickup crash that killed two illegal migrant workers

Two brothers from Phatthalung were arrested in their home province on Monday morning over their alleged roles in the November 30 pickup-truck crash in Prachuap Khiri Khan that led to two deaths and 12 injuries among illegal migrant workers from Myanmar. 

Suspects Anurak Khongdaeng, 29, and Sompong Khongdaeng, 27, for whom the Prachuap Khiri Khan Court had issued arrest warrants for aiding illegal migrants to avoid arrest, were taken into custody in Tambon Tha Khae, in Mueang Phatthalung, where they had fled to after the nighttime crash on Friday. 

The brothers also had reportedly stopped in Khuan Khanun district to clean their getaway pickup on Saturday in an attempt to avoid police detection and destroy evidence.

Their vehicle was one of two pickups used to transport 26 Myanmar people, who had trekked through Tanaosri mountain-range forest and crossed a natural border into Thailand, with a view to heading to a labour market in Malaysia, police investigators found.