Nakhon Si Thammarat—
On March 9th, 2024, Thai highway police intercepted two vehicles suspected of illegal immigration of workers being smuggled on Highway 41 Road, Chulabhorn, Nakhon Si Thammarat. As a result, four Thai suspects and 19 Myanmar nationals were detained.
According to the highway police, there was a report from an anonymous source of illegal immigration workers smuggling people in the area. The highway police then investigated the case and detected two pickup trucks. The two vehicles were asked for an inspection.
The highway police found 19 Myanmar nationals including 12 male and 7 female undocumented immigrants. Upon further investigation, the four Thai suspects were publicly identified only as Mr. Songphon, 44, Mrs. Apasara, 41, Mr. Prasit, 58, and Mr. Josit, 33.
The Thai suspects reportedly confessed their wrongdoings to the highway police as they were contacted by another person, publicly identified only as Mr. Bird, to transport illegal immigrants from Samut Sakhon to Hat Yai, Songkhla. They would receive 20,000 Baht as a payment, according to the highway police.
Initially, the police pressed charges against the Thai suspects for assisting illegal immigrants to enter Thailand in violation of the law and 19 Myanmar nationals in total were facing charges of entering Thailand without permission.
