23-6-2023 (BANGKOK) In a significant operation, immigration police apprehended four Thai individuals and 19 illegal Bangladeshi migrants after intercepting a convoy of five cars in the Bang Klam district of this southern province on Thursday.
Acting on a tip-off received from informants, authorities learned that a group of undocumented migrants would be transported from Samut Prakan, with their final destination being Malaysia via Songkhla.
At approximately 5:30 pm, immigration police pursued and successfully halted the five vehicles—a black Toyota Innova, a grey Toyota Altis, a red Toyota Altis, a Toyota Fortuner, and a Toyota Camry—at a location along the Asian highway between Rattaphum and Bang Klam districts.
During the operation, four Thai drivers—a woman named Falada Suriyachat (48) from Pathum Thani province, Kittisak Mangkorn (49) from Kanchanaburi, Rangsan Supan (27) from Yasothon, and Sunthorn Kanungnit (43) from Nakhon Ratchasima—were apprehended. However, the fifth driver managed to escape.
Upon inspecting the vehicles, authorities discovered 19 Bangladeshi migrants who had been smuggled into the country.
During subsequent police interrogations, the four arrested drivers revealed that they had been hired by an individual named Somchai to transport the Bangladeshi migrants from Samut Prakan to Songkhla, with each driver receiving 2,500 baht per person transported.
The Bangladeshi migrants stated that they had initially traveled by air to Cambodia before illegally crossing the border into Thailand on Wednesday. They were then further transported to Samut Prakan. Each migrant had paid 350,000 takas or 110,000 baht to job brokers who had promised to secure employment for them in Malaysia.
The Thai drivers have been charged with providing shelter for foreigners who entered the country illegally.
Meanwhile, the Bangladeshi nationals have been handed over to the Bang Klam police station, where legal proceedings will take place. They face charges of illegal entry and will be subject to repatriation.
