PRACHUAP KHIRI KHAN: Police have arrested 32 illegal Myanmar workers crammed into the bed of a pickup truck and the Thai national who was driving.
A police patrol team spotted the white pickup truck with a tarpaulin covering its bed travelling along Phetkasem road near a checkpoint in tambon Khlong Wan on Thursday evening, police said.
Upon seeing police, the driver sped off, prompting them to give chase.
Police later managed to stop the vehicle after a chase that lasted more than one hour. Driver Khongrit Siangphor, 31, of Chumphon province, was caught.
When the police removed the tarpaulin from the back of the pickup truck, they found many Myanmar workers crammed inside.
The police found large blocks of ice on the floor of the bed, covered with a rubber sheet. They were told the ice was intended to reduce the heat and keep them cool.
During the interrogation, the migrant workers said they came from Mawlamyine town, opposite Kanchanaburi province. They then went to a border village in Myeik town of Taninthaaryi, opposite the checkpoint in Prachuap Khiri Khan. It took them more than two days to cross the natural border on foot.
Police said the workers were destined for Malaysia. They paid about 16,500 baht each to a Thai smuggling gang which promised to send them to Thailand's neighbouring country.
