SONGKHLA: A driver arrested along with 13 illegal migrants from Myanmar in Rattaphum district of this southern province on Thursday admitted the financial reward drove him to take the job – even though he had been arrested for the same offence three times before.
Immigration police followed a sport utility vehicle along a highway and intercepted it at Khuha intersection in Rattaphum district on Thursday evening.
The Thai driver, identified only as Aphiwatthana, 46, was arrested after 13 illegal migrant workers were found crammed inside his vehicle. The migrants, all from Myanmar, were taken to Rattaphum police station.
During questioning, the driver confessed to having transported the migrants from Surat Thani to Songkhla. He had been hired for 2,500 baht per head, he said.
A criminal record check showed Mr Apiwatthana had been arrested for smuggling illegal migrants on three prior occasions before being released. He told police that he took the job again because he was well paid.
The migrants told police they had paid 12 million kyat in total, or almost 200,000 baht, to job brokers with a promise of work in Malaysia.
The driver and the migrants were charged and held in police custody pending legal action.