CHIANG MAI: Eight illegal border crossers from Myanmar were caught at a road checkpoint in Fang district on Monday.
The arrest was made by soldiers from the 5th Cavalry Regiment of the Pha Muang Force.
The two men and six women were travelling in a Toyota Vigo pickup which was stopped at the Ban Luang checkpoint in tambon Mae Ngon. The Thai driver, Polpol Sae Lee, 24, from Chiang Mai's Chiang Dao district, was also detained.
When questioned, they said they were from Muang Naing township in Myanmar amd were heading for promised jobs in Chiang Mai. They had each paid 1,500 baht to a job broker.
They were handed over to Fang police for legal processing pending repatriation.
Maj Gen Suparerk Sathapornpol, commander of the Pha Muang Force, made an inspection tour of border defence forces under the 5th Cavalry Regiment in Chiang Dao, Wiang Haeng and Fang districts on Saturday and instructed them to be on high alert for illegal border crossings by job seekers during the Loy Krathong festival.
