A combined force of local officials, police and military personnel in Thong Pha Phum district of Kanchanaburi province intercepted a trailer truck and arrested 169 illegal migrant workers from Myanmar.
Acting on a tipoff that a truck was suspected to have been carrying illegal migrants from Sangkhla Buri district, near the border with Myanmar, to somewhere inside Thailand, Thong Pha Phum district chief officer, Chakrit Tanphiroon alerted the police, troops and defence volunteers.
They set up a road block at an intersection in Tha Khanun sub-district.
When the truck arrived at the checkpoint, the truck driver was ordered to pull over for a search and the illicit human cargo was discovered.
All the illegal immigrants were taken to the district police station for temporary detention, pending deportation. The truck driver was charged with abetting the smuggling of people into the country.
