44 Cambodians arrested for sneaking across Sa Kaeo border
Thai troops arrest 44 Cambodians in Sa Kaeo for illegal entry to work in Thailand, after paying brokers up to 6,500 baht for smuggling.
Thai troops and border patrol police on Thursday morning arrested 44 Cambodians for allegedly sneaking across the Sa Kaeo border in search of jobs in Thailand.
Troops from the Burapha Taskforce and police from the Sa Kaeo border patrol taskforce arrested the group at Ban Nong Chan in Khok Sung district at 7.40 am.
The detainees comprised 26 men, 16 women, and two boys aged 14. They were caught using a natural trail between checkpoints Nos. 41 and 42.
The Cambodians told authorities they had previously returned to Cambodia when border fighting erupted but decided to cross back into Thailand after failing to secure the jobs promised by their government.
They admitted to paying brokers between 5,000 and 6,500 baht each to be smuggled into Thailand to work illegally as construction workers and farmhands in Prachin Buri. They added that employers had agreed to pay the smuggling fees upfront, to be deducted later from their wages.
Before this arrest, authorities had also detained 13 Thais attempting to sneak back from Cambodia. Two men were arrested at 4.45 am on a trail between checkpoints Nos. 35 and 34, while five men and six women were arrested at 7.30 am on a trail between checkpoints Nos. 40 and 41.
