Ubon man held for people smuggling
An Ubon Ratchathani man was arrested in Saraburi's Nong Khae district while trying to smuggle 20 Laotians in his pickup truck to Pathum Thani's Khlong 10 area, AntiHuman Trafficking Division chief Pol MajGeneral Chawalit Sawaengpeuch said yesterday.
After an investigation turned up information that three trucks loaded with Laotians would pass through the area, police arrested Withoon Thongsin, 32, with 11 men, eight women and a child from Laos in his truck. They had reportedly paid Withoon Bt1,600 per head to transport them to Pathum Thani, from where they were planning to travel to Bangkok to find jobs.
The arrest stemmed from information gleaned during the earlier capture of traffickers smuggling Laotians in Ubon Ratchathani. Withoon, whom police believe had engaged in the activity many times before, earning about Bt30,000 each time, faced charges of harbouring or assisting illegal immigrants, while the Laotians were facing charges of illegal entry.
