BANGKOK — Thai authorities arrested nine Afghan migrants and three Thai smugglers in separate operations in two southern provinces on Saturday, according to international media reports.
Citing the Bangkok Post, officials said immigration officers, provincial police, and tourist police intercepted a pickup truck with Narathiwat license plates near a garbage dump in Hat Yai district, Songkhla on Saturday morning. The driver, Waenasueree Arwae, 34, and a passenger, Nuraseela Jorloh, 31, both Thai nationals, were arrested. Four Afghan migrants found in the truck’s cargo bed were also taken into custody. All were transported to Hat Yai police station.
In a separate operation the same day, authorities arrested another Thai national, Nimae Maerorgaki, 41, along with five Afghan migrants, after intercepting his vehicle at the Morkaeng road checkpoint in Pattani’s Nong Chik district. They were taken to Nong Chik police station for processing.
The three Thai suspects have been charged with harboring illegal migrants and aiding their escape from law enforcement.
According to police, the drivers said they had been hired by a Malaysian national to transport the migrants from Songkhla to the Sungai Kolok border district in Narathiwat for a fee of 3,000 baht per person.
Investigators revealed that the nine Afghan migrants had entered Thailand illegally from Cambodia via a natural border crossing in Sa Kaeo. Each reportedly paid brokers 120,000 baht ($3,400) for jobs and transportation to Malaysia.
All suspects remain in police custody as legal proceedings continue.
