SONGKHLA: Immigration police arrested four Thai nationals and 19 illegal Bangladeshi migrants after intercepting five cars in Bang Klam district of this southern province on Thursday.
The arrest followed a tip-off from informants that a group of illegal migrants would be transported from Samut Prakan, en route for Malaysia, via Songkhla.
At about 5.30pm, the immigration police gave chase to the five cars - a black Toyota Innova, a grey Toyota Altis, a red Toyota Altis, a Toyota Fortuner and a Toyota Camry - and managed to stop them at a spot on the Asian highway between Rattaphum and Bang Klam districts.
Four Thai drivers - a woman and three men - were arrested. The woman was Falada Suriyachat, 48, from Pathum Thani province. The men were Kittisak Mangkorn, 49, from Kanchanaburi, Rangsan Supan, 27, from Yasothon, and Sunthorn Kanungnit, 43, from Nakhon Ratchasima. The fifth driver managed to escape.
Found in the five vehicles were 19 migrants from Bangladesh.
The four drivers said during police interrogation that they were hired by a man called Somchai to transport the Bangladeshi migrants from Samut Prakan to Songkhla at 2,500 baht per head.
The Bangladeshi migrants said they travelled by air to Cambodia and illegally sneaked across the border into Thailand on Wednesday, before being further transported to Samut Prakan. They had paid 350,000 takas or 110,000 baht each to job brokers who promised to find jobs for them in Malaysia.
The Thai drivers were charged with providing shelter for foreigners who entered the country illegally.
The Bangladeshi nationals were handed over to Bang Klam police station for legal proceedings on charges of illegal entry, pending repatriation.
