Songkhla: Immigration police joined forces with Songkhla police to chase a small four-wheeled truck with a closed container, which was carrying 33 illegal Myanmar workers while they were being sent to their destination in Malaysia.
According to Thai News Agency, the Immigration Police Investigation Unit of Songkhla Province, together with the Investigation Unit of the Songkhla Provincial Police Investigation Division, pursued a small white Isuzu four-wheeled closed-van truck with a Bangkok license plate. This action followed information that the vehicle was transporting illegal immigrants from Samut Sakhon Province to Songkhla Province along the Asia route heading south. The pursuit ended in Tambon Kuha Tai, Amphoe Rattaphum, Songkhla Province, where road construction barriers caused the vehicle to slow down, allowing officers to intercept and arrest Mr. Wisessak, the 56-year-old driver from Samut Sakhon.
A search of the closed-van revealed 33 illegal immigrants from Myanmar, comprising 21 men and 12 women. These individuals were divided into two groups: 15 people with red ropes tied around their wrists and 18 people without ropes. They were taken for questioning at Rattaphum Police Station. Mr. Wisessak confessed that he had been contacted by a Burmese individual to transport the workers from a rented house in Samut Sakhon Province for a fee of 500 baht per person. He was supposed to take them to a rubber plantation in Khlong Ngae Subdistrict, Sadao District, Songkhla Province.
The foreign workers disclosed that they had illegally crossed the border via a natural route in Kanchanaburi Province three days prior and stayed overnight in Samut Sakhon Province. They were picked up by the van last night after paying 5 million Kyat, approximately 80,000 baht, with half of the payment made in advance and the rest due upon reaching Malaysia.
The authorities took all individuals into custody for prosecution. Mr. Wisessak faces charges of providing shelter, hiding, or assisting illegal aliens in evading arrest. The 33 foreign workers are charged with entering and staying in the Kingdom without permission. Officers intend to further investigate and dismantle the labor trafficking network responsible for smuggling workers through Thailand into Malaysia, despite the risk of arrest and prosecution.