Eleven illegal migrants and three Thai helpers were arrested near the Myanmar border in Mae Sot district early on Tuesday. Two Chinese men who had fled quarantine were also apprehended.
An army patrol in hiding watched a pickup truck with Tak licence plates arrive near a natural border crossing at Wang Takhian Tai village in tambon Tha Sailuad around midnight.
Shortly after, a group of people walked out of some trees towards the vehicle. The soldiers emerged and asked for their ID papers.
The driver, identified only as Boon, 52, of tambon Tha Sailuad in Mae Sot district, was arrested, along with two Thai women and 11 Myanmar nationals who had crossed the border illegally.
All were taken to Mae Sot Hospital for Covid-tests, which were negative. They were then handed over to Mae Sot police for legal action.
Another patrol stopped two Chinese men near a corn field close to the border late on Monday night and asked for their papers.
The two men produced passports identifying themselves as Zhu Jianshi, 51, and Qu Haihua, 35.
The pair had earlier fled from a resort in Mae Sot district where they had been placed in quarantine. They were taken back to the resort.
bkk
