Seven North Korean defectors have been arrested on the Mekong River in Nong Khai for illegally entering the country, a senior immigration police officer said on Wednesday.
The four men and three women aged between 22 and 75 were apprehended on Tuesday night, said Pol Col Panlop Suriyakul na Ayutthaya, chief of Nong Khai immigration police, during a media briefing in the northeastern province on Wednesday.
Kyodo News reported none were carrying passports and confirmed through a translator they were from North Korea. Among their belongings were 15,000 baht in cash and a few Chinese yuan.
A police investigation found the seven North Koreans had tried to sneak into the country five days after fleeing their home.
They were charged with illegal entry and later handed over to Ban Due police station.
Many North Koreans fleeing their country have entered Thailand illegally through its northeastern borders in recent years, but Thai authorities have not repatriated them to North Korea on humanitarian grounds.
Under immigration law, illegal entry carries a penalty of up to two years in prison and a fine of up 20,000 baht.