The 129 men and women from Myanmar were handed over to the authorities of Koh Song island in Myanmar following a ceremony on a pier. The ceremony was also attended by senior Ranong immigration police.
Speaking during the ceremony, Ranong Governor Somkiart Sisanetr said Ranong and Koh Song province of Myanmar had agreed to close their permanent and temporary border checkpoints. To prevent Covid-19 infections, the peoples of the two provinces were allowed cross-border visits only to buy foods and necessities.
However, Somkiart said, some people had taken the advantage of the border closure to lure Myanmar jobseekers to sneak into Thailand with the promise of finding them jobs.
Somkiart said the jobseekers had to pay fees of tens of thousands of baht only to be arrested and deported.
The governor said the Thai authorities have been making several arrests and the 129 jobseekers had been legally punished so they will be deported back to their families in Myanmar.
Somkiart told the jobseekers that Thailand would welcome them back to work here once the border is reopened. He said the jobseekers should seek jobs in Thailand through legal channels so that they would not be arrested and so that they can receive all their due rights as foreign labourers.