KANCHANABURI - Fourteen illegal Myanmar job seekers were arrested shortly after they entered Thailand by boat across Vajiralongkorn Reservoir in Kanchanaburi's Thong Pha Phum district on Tuesday morning.
They were travelling in a pickup truck stopped by police, soldiers and local administrative officials patrolling the area against smugglers.
The silver Isuzu pickup was flagged down on Thong Pha Phum-Huai Khayeng Road in Ban Tha Phae about 3am. The vehicle, registered in the southern province of Nakhon Si Thammarat, matched the description provided by an informant.
The driver ran away, leaving behind the 14 passengers, 12 men and two women, travelling on the back under a black covering.
The illegal migrants said they crossed the border by natural pathways, leaving from Payathonzu in Myanmar. They had been guided to a boat on the edge of Vajiralongkorn reservoir in Sangkhlaburi border district and taken across the water to Thong Pha Phum, where the pickup truck waited for them.
They said they were being charged 20,000 baht each by a Myanmar trafficker, but payment was due only if they reached their intended destination, and promised jobs, inside Thailand.
