Thirty illegal job seekers from Myanmar on their way to Malaysia were arrested at a sugarcane plantation in Muang district of Ratchaburi on Tuesday night.
Local police, immigration officers and officials detained the men and women near a canal at village Moo 4 in tambon Khok Mor around 7pm after a local resident going fishing discovered strangers hiding among the sugar plants.
There were 26 men and 4 women and all were illegal migrants from Myanmar.
During questioning they said via an interpreter they had sneaked into the country via Phu Nam Ron border checkpoint in Kanchanaburi province and someone later drove them to the plantation in Ratchaburi province. They were waiting for vehicles to take them to the border with Malaysia.
They had paid 35,000 baht each to job brokers – 20,000 baht each to enter Thailand and another 15,000 baht for transport to Malaysia, with a promise of jobs there.
None had entry documents. They were handed over to Muang police in Ratchaburi for legal proceedings and then deportation.
