Border patrols on Sunday arrested a total of 126 Myanmar people who illegally crossed the border into Kanchanaburi and Chiang Mai provinces.
In Kanchanaburi, 38 men and 38 women were found by a patrol of the Surasee Task Force hiding in bushes beside a pineapple plantation near Nong Pla Duk, the Moo 5 village, in tambon Si Mongkol of Sai Yok district on Sunday afternoon.
Another group of four men and six women were caught near Song Karia, or Moo 8 village, in tambon Nong Lu of Sangkhla Buri district.
When questioned, they said they were from Phayathonezu, Moulmein, Bago or Dawei townships in Myanmar, and heading to promised jobs in Samut Sakhon, Nakhon Pathom and Bangkok.
Some had paid 5,000-20,000 baht each in brokerage fees to agents while the others said they would pay on arriving at the work sites.
They were handed over to Sai Yok and Sangkhla Buri police for legal proceedings, pending deportation.
In Chiang Mai, a patrol from the 4th Cavalry under the Pha Muang Force found 40 Myanmar nationals, 19 men and 21 women, near Mae Phoe village in tambon Mae Pin of Fang district.
They had entered Thailand into Fang district from Taunggyi and Sisaeng townships in Shan State of Myanmar, having paid 20,000 baht each to brokers for jobs in Bangkok.
They were to be deported after legal proceedings.
