10 Myanmar men nabbed in Chumphon for travelling with ‘fake’ passports

[webfact]

10 Myanmar men nabbed in Chumphon for travelling with ‘fake’ passports

By THE NATION

 

 

Ten Myanmar nationals were arrested in Chumphon province for entering Thailand via Malaysia with what were believed to be fake passports.

 

Chumphon police chief Pol Maj-General Wimon Phitakburapha announced on Friday (July 17) that 10 foreigners had been arrested with allegedly fake passports at the Thung Sawan security checkpoint in Lamae district. A Thai national who drove the suspects into Thailand was also detained.

 

“Our informant had told us that a van carrying illegal aliens will pass the checkpoint on Thursday night, so we dispatched officials to stop and search all vehicles,” he said. “At around midnight, police stopped a white Toyota van registered in Samut Sakhon, which was driven by Songkran Siphanom, 31, a resident of Nakhon Phanom province.

 

 

“On board, officials found 10 Myanmar men, aged between 22 and 30, all carrying passports showing they had travelled from Malaysia and were heading to Myanmar. However, the documents appeared fake,” Wimon added. “Songkran said he had been hired by a foreign labour agency to pick up Myanmar men who had illegally entered Thailand from Malaysia and had holed up in Narathiwat’s Tak Bai district.”

 

Songkran reportedly said he was supposed to drop them off at the Bangkok Bus Terminal in Chatuchak district so they could get a bus to Tak province and then slip out to Myanmar. He claimed he had been promised Bt3,500 per person.

 

After interrogating the Myanmar men, police learned they had been working in Malaysia until a few months ago when Covid-19 hit the country. “They said they were out of jobs and were afraid of contracting the virus, so they decided to flee to Thailand, where the Covid-19 situation is much better,” Wimon said.

 

 

“They said the agency that had got them the jobs in Malaysia had sent them the passports, but they had no idea they were fake,” he added.

 

All suspects, including the driver, were tested for Covid-19 and detained, while officials are reviewing the evidence to charge them with entering the country illegally.

 

Source: https://www.nationthailand.com/news/30391493

 

-- © Copyright The Nation Thailand 2020-07-17

 

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[hotchilli]

Thailand still in the trafficking racket !

[RichardColeman]

22 hours ago, webfact said:

He claimed he had been promised Bt3,500 per person.

Promised 35,000 baht to transit 10 Myanmar workers in one van ?  Think he just admitted to shooting himself in the foot

[Burma Bill]

23 hours ago, webfact said:

They said they were out of jobs and were afraid of contracting the virus, so they decided to flee to Thailand, where the Covid-19 situation is much better,”

Oh really! Why didn't they get repatriated back to Myanmar direct from Malaysia??

Myanmar (Burma)

Confirmed 339 +2

Recovered   270

Deaths 6

 

 

Thailand

Confirmed 3,239  +3

Recovered 3,096

Deaths 58

[sanmyintmaung]

46 minutes ago, Burma Bill said:

Oh really! Why didn't they get repatriated back to Myanmar direct from Malaysia??

Myanmar (Burma)

Confirmed 339 +2

Recovered   270

Deaths 6

 

 

Thailand

Confirmed 3,239  +3

Recovered 3,096

Deaths 58

Probably because they are illegal migrant workers and couldn't go back through official channels such as air ports due to fear of arrest.

Edited July 18, 2020 by sanmyintmaung

[IAMHERE]

Is this free labor for the Thai Prisons? What is the point of keeping them here? Escort them to the Burma boarder and get them out of Thailand.

[hotchilli]

On 7/18/2020 at 1:28 PM, RichardColeman said:

Promised 35,000 baht to transit 10 Myanmar workers in one van ?  Think he just admitted to shooting himself in the foot

Paid to him by whom????

Time they chased the others in the trafficking game, not just the drivers.