184 illegal Myanmar migrants arrested while crossing border in Tak
Soldiers of 14th Infantry Regiment on Wednesday night arrested 184 Myanmar migrants as they were crossing the border into Thailand without documentation at Phob Phra district in Tak province.
The Royal Thai Army has deployed officers to patrol the Thai-Myanmar border in Tak since earlier this month as the number of Myanmar nationals trying to slip into the country via natural channels to find jobs has been rising, while putting the locals at risk of contracting Covid-19.
The 184 migrants arrested on Wednesday consist of 111 males and 73 females. One of the migrants reportedly said that the group have traveled by foot from Myanmar and entered Thailand via a grove wood in Chong Khaeb subdistrict at night to avoid officials’ detection. They had also paid an agency who promised to help them find a job in inner provinces of Thailand at 20,000 baht per person.
Officials put the migrants in isolation where they will be tested for Covid-19 and then charged with entering the country illegally.