11 Myanmar migrants arrested in Narathiwat while crossing over from Malaysia

“The migrants were disembarking from a ferry when officials confronted them before making the arrests. However, the ferry boat driver fled immediately,” district chief Rungreung Thimabutr said.

“Officials then brought the 11 migrants to Sungai Kolok Police Station for Covid-19 screening and interrogation. None of them has proper documents. They used to work on fishing boats in Malaysia and tried to enter Thailand to find jobs,” he said.

Preliminary screening showed that the 11 migrants have normal temperature. They are still detained in isolation until more detailed tests clear them of Covid-19 infection.

Rungreung added that in the past few months, officials had arrested several illegal migrants trying to enter Thailand via natural channels in Sungai Kolok district.

“Most of them were from Kelantan state in Malaysia and were either trying to escape the escalating Covid-19 situation in Malaysia or trying to find jobs,” he said.

“The agency in Malaysia that facilitated their entry would keep their passports to avoid authorities tracing back to them in case the migrants were arrested. We suspect that they could be international human trafficking rings.”