Arrest of Eleven Migrants and a Thai Driver in Thong Pha Phum District
On Friday morning, authorities in the Thong Pha Phum district made a significant arrest involving eleven illegal migrant workers from Myanmar and a Thai driver. The incident unfolded after officials set up a road checkpoint at the Thong Pha Phum junction on Highway 323 in tambon Than Khanum at 8:30 am. This action was taken following intelligence reports that a van was being used to smuggle migrants into the province.
As the checkpoint was established, officers noticed a suspect Toyota van heading from Thong Pha Phum towards Muang district. They signaled the driver to stop, and he complied. The driver, identified as Prasit, a 33-year-old Thai national from Sam Phran district in Nakhon Pathom, cooperated with the officers.
Inside the van, immigration officials discovered 11 Myanmar migrants—seven men and four women. When asked for documentation, the migrants presented photocopied documents, including foreign birth certificates, copies of identity cards, and work permits that were supposedly compliant with a 2022 Thai cabinet resolution. However, none of these documents were certified, and all had expired. Immigration officers later confirmed that the documents were invalid due to their expiration.
The 11 migrants were handed over to Thong Pha Phum police for legal proceedings, facing charges of illegally entering and residing in Thailand. Meanwhile, the driver, Prasit, will be charged with assisting illegal migrants in evading arrest.
According to initial statements, Prasit told police that he had picked up the workers at the Sala Daeng pier in Chong Ua village, Moo 4 of Sangkhla Buri district, at 3 am on Friday. He was instructed to transport them to a meeting point in Muang district of Kanchanaburi, where another vehicle would take them further.
During questioning, the migrants, who spoke through an interpreter, revealed that they had crossed the border illegally into Sangkhla Buri and traveled by boat to the Sala Daeng pier, where the van picked them up. Their plan was to work in provinces such as Samut Songkhram and Samut Sakhon. Each migrant had paid brokers between 15,000 and 16,000 baht for this journey.
This incident highlights the ongoing issue of human trafficking and illegal migration in the region. Authorities continue to strengthen measures to combat these activities, ensuring that those involved face the legal consequences of their actions.