Immigration: Hundreds of foreigners arrested in southern Thailand since start of the month

 

Image: Manager

 

The head of Thailand's Region 6 immigration met the press yesterday to report that 686 people - mostly foreigners - had been apprehended for various offences in the period from July 1st to 25th.

 

Maj-Gen Jetsada Yaisun said that many were illegal migrant workers but some were involved in human trafficking. 

 

Some 436 people had no permission or had illegally entered Thailand. Fifteen were on overstay. Forty nine had no work permits. Twenty five were wanted on warrants. Others were on immigration related charges or other lawbreaking. 

 

Twelve people were involved in human trafficking cases in Songkhla and Satun - this involved Thais, Malaysians and people from Myanmar. 

 

Seven people from Myanmar were found to have fake passports. They had entered via a natural border in Kanchanaburi and were headed for Malaysia to work. 

 

They were using genuine passports that had the picture changed to their own - a new way of doing things that was difficult to detect. 

 

They had paid agents 16,000 baht each for the passports, an official told the press.

 

Source: Manager

 

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So, yet another big song and dance over finding a few immigrants from neighbouring countries. There are after all over a million of them spread around, so finding a few with dodgy credentials shouldn't be too difficult. No mention of any expats involved, but the tone of the story still tends to tar us with the same brush and makes readers get the impression that so, so many foreigners in general are bad for the country. I like this attitude less and less with every such story.

How much does the bounty hunters make per head?

If the headline was "Immigration: Hundreds of Illegal Migrant Workers arrested in southern Thailand since start of the month" or "New type of Fake Passport Detected" would you still be upset by this story? I think that is the point. To push your expat buttons.

3 hours ago, rooster59 said:

human trafficking. 

Taking jobs away from the Navy? 

4 hours ago, rooster59 said:

They were using genuine passports that had the picture changed to their own - a new way of doing things that was difficult to detect. 

OK, so I am a pretty daft person, but a portable biometric scanner would do the job if Thailand insisted all passports had to be biometric

32 minutes ago, NCC1701A said:

If the headline was "Immigration: Hundreds of Illegal Migrant Workers arrested in southern Thailand since start of the month" or "New type of Fake Passport Detected" would you still be upset by this story? I think that is the point. To push your expat buttons.

to be fair with Manager, their original headline translates to "police reports arrests of foreign criminals and shutting down an international human trafficking network during the past month"

 

the way headlines are translated into English is obviously meant to increase click rates.

26 minutes ago, RichardColeman said:

OK, so I am a pretty daft person, but a portable biometric scanner would do the job if Thailand insisted all passports had to be biometric

hint: *foreigners*

if Thailand insisted only bearers of biometric passports enter the country, most of its industrial and agricultural workforce would be gone.

Kind of makes sense that immigration would arrest foreigners, ya think?

4 hours ago, darksidedog said:

So, yet another big song and dance over finding a few immigrants from neighbouring countries. There are after all over a million of them spread around, so finding a few with dodgy credentials shouldn't be too difficult. No mention of any expats involved, but the tone of the story still tends to tar us with the same brush and makes readers get the impression that so, so many foreigners in general are bad for the country. I like this attitude less and less with every such story.

agree with you initially we thought real farang caught again, My guess these are construction workers from neighboring countries. Once they kick them out who will do the work, Thais??? Maybe BIB in middle of the photo could do some shoveling going by the body shape.

THey're coming for us....can run but cannot hide.

53 minutes ago, NCC1701A said:

If the headline was "Immigration: Hundreds of Illegal Migrant Workers arrested in southern Thailand since start of the month" or "New type of Fake Passport Detected" would you still be upset by this story? I think that is the point. To push your expat buttons.

there's money to be made by winding people up, too bad it's all so low brow..

..... but zero Thai criminals arrested. Always only focus on foreigners. Hopefully, the the number is going down again. Because, Thais do not deserve it, that foreigners visit their country. May everybody moves to Vietnam etc.

 

27 minutes ago, mike787 said:

THey're coming for us....can run but cannot hide.

Hey, that's the Thermae in Bangkok!

15 minutes ago, SuwadeeS said:

..... but zero Thai criminals arrested. Always only focus on foreigners. 

 

I read this in the OP:

 

"Twelve people were involved in human trafficking cases in Songkhla and Satun - this involved Thais, Malaysians and people from Myanmar."  

37 minutes ago, mike787 said:

 

you have to bring your own.

 

Why priority isn't for arrest terrorist (in south to) ?

 

 

Because more hard ?

Seven people from Myanmar were found to have fake passports..........

They were using genuine passports that had the picture changed to their own.......

 

Which statement is correct? Answers please on a postcard to....

It won't be long before all the foreigners they seem to dislike will have a tracking chip inserted on arrival. Real third world stuff from Thai officials who seem to be intent on turning Thailand into a version of North Korea. 

1 hour ago, Happy Grumpy said:

Taking jobs away from the Navy? 

The Thai fishing industry was receiving a trafficked slave workforce which was occasionally murdered 

1 hour ago, RichardColeman said:

OK, so I am a pretty daft person, but a portable biometric scanner would do the job if Thailand insisted all passports had to be biometric

 

Thailand,.m like and other state, cannot impose its wishes on other countries.

 

What you are saying could have been said by Malaysia to Thailand 14 years ago, when they were the only ones to have biometric passports in the region. It has taken Thailand long enough to get the systems.

 

What about countries that simply don't want or are not in a position to afford biometric systems. Do all their nationals have to be penalized as a result?

30 minutes ago, apophyss said:

Why priority isn't for arrest terrorist (in south to) ?

 

 

Because more hard ?

 

Because that would be REAL policing and REAL work for the Army, not soft targets like illegals and migrant workers. If they were out tracking terrorists they wouldn't have all this time for all these press conferences which achieve nothing except feed their over inflated egos.

 

 

 

I sure wish they would differentiate between law abiding, hard working, honest ex-pats, and people committing crimes, from Burma, Malaysia and Cambodia, when they refer to the hundreds of foreigners being arrested. It really reeks of xenophobia, every time I hear these pronouncements. 

Sounds good! Whatever ones that stays and/or work here under false or illegal grounds should immediately be removed.

2 hours ago, RichardColeman said:

OK, so I am a pretty daft person, but a portable biometric scanner would do the job if Thailand insisted all passports had to be biometric

Maybe they can borrow the 'new' smart van for that function. As far as Thailand insisting all passport to be biometric is not going to happen. Passports are the property of the issuing country, not the destination country. Can you imagine the Thai government showing up in Beijing or the London telling those governments if your country doesn't switch to biometrics faster, your citizens won't be allowed in? All of the new US passport now have a chip. many passports without biometric capability still have as much as five years before they expire in some cases. 

Good Job 

6 hours ago, darksidedog said:

So, yet another big song and dance over finding a few immigrants from neighbouring countries. There are after all over a million of them spread around, so finding a few with dodgy credentials shouldn't be too difficult. No mention of any expats involved, but the tone of the story still tends to tar us with the same brush and makes readers get the impression that so, so many foreigners in general are bad for the country. I like this attitude less and less with every such story.

Thailand is singing and dancing everyday of the week so it should come as no surprise. 

6 hours ago, rooster59 said:

They were using genuine passports that had the picture changed to their own - a new way of doing things that was difficult to detect.

Really?

2 hours ago, SuwadeeS said:

but zero Thai criminals arrested. Always only focus on foreigners

You think maybe because its immigration?  

7 hours ago, darksidedog said:

So, yet another big song and dance over finding a few immigrants from neighbouring countries. There are after all over a million of them spread around, so finding a few with dodgy credentials shouldn't be too difficult. No mention of any expats involved, but the tone of the story still tends to tar us with the same brush and makes readers get the impression that so, so many foreigners in general are bad for the country. I like this attitude less and less with every such story.

Can only agree! 

 

Digressing slightly, on another thread, a poster was commenting on the fact that "Land of Smiles" was now a bit of a misnomer as Thais had become less welcoming, and over the last few years, the smile had disappeared. 

 

I was in my local Tesco Lotus shopping yesterday, and out of all the staff that I dealt with, and despite always being polite and greeting them and thanking them (sah wah dee khrap and khàawp khun khrap)  I got not one smile or acknowledgement in return, except for the girl at the check out.

 

A few years ago this was not the case, and it may be down to wages, or working conditions, or lack of training, but the surly attitude to foreigners seems to be coming more widespread of late, (at least in Tesco and a few other places - Macro being an exception!) and it's such a shame as it was one of the first things that I noticed favourably when I first came here  - that ready smile and hello - so different to the "Who the f#$k" you looking/smiling at?" attitude back "home"!

 

It may also be down to the fact that Immigration are constantly in the news for "capturing" foreigners for various offences, (but mainly overstays or other visa offences) that we all get tarred with the same brush by the general populace, and are all "bad guys" just about to be arrested and deported!