Border Patrol Arrests 52 Myanmar Migrants Entering Thailand Illegally
Authorities in Kanchanaburi arrested 52 Myanmar migrants hiding in a forest near Sangkhla Buri after illegally crossing the border, with plans to work in Thai cities. The group was caught during a patrol operation before smugglers could tra
Kanchanaburi authorities have arrested 52 Myanmar nationals caught hiding in the forest near Sangkhla Buri district after illegally crossing into Thailand through a natural border route. The migrants were believed to be destined for labor work in major Thai cities.
On August 14, officials from Kanchanaburi Province, the 19th Infantry Regiment, and other security units conducted an integrated patrol operation near the Nong Loo subdistrict in Sangkhla Buri. Officers discovered a large group of suspected Myanmar migrant workers hiding in a natural passage area behind a pomelo orchard in Moo 8, Nong Loo. After surrounding the location and signaling for the group to surrender, the individuals complied cooperatively.
Authorities detained all 52 people—34 men and 18 women—and transported them to a joint security checkpoint for document verification. None of the migrants possessed identification cards or legal residency documents, and none could speak or understand Thai. They were brought for interrogation through a translator at Sangkhla Buri Police Station.
One suspect, a 44-year-old Myanmar man named Ong Mi, confessed through a translator that the group had been summoned to gather at Phayatongsu Subdistrict and were led across the border through a natural passage by Myanmar smugglers. They then traveled secretly through forest paths to avoid checkpoints, eventually waiting behind the pomelo orchard for someone to pick them up and take them to work in Thailand's interior provinces. They were apprehended before transport could occur.
After the suspects confessed, they were handed over to Sangkhla Buri Police for prosecution under charges of illegal entry and residence in Thailand without authorization.
