Three Chinese nationals were arrested in Tak by joint forces for allegedly entering the kingdom illegally through the province’s natural border from Myanmar.
The group had around 8 million baht in cash on them at the time of their arrest.
Forces made up of police and army personnel under Capt Sasawat Sattayapong, commander of the Heavy Mortar Company of the Fourth Infantry Regiment, arrested the trio in Ban Mae Kumai Thasung in tambon Mae Ku of Mae Sot district.
The man and two women were spotted by a Thai patrol unit after they crossed the Moei River from Myanmar’s Myawaddi Township with a Myanmar porter, who is believed to be a member of a human trafficking gang.
The forces confiscated the money and four mobile phones from Nac Ltyi, 36, Liu Giaurong, 29 and Ghen Lihua, 26, the Chinese nationals.
Authorities said their initial investigation found the suspects left Myanmar because they were afraid of the worsening pandemic situation there.
Many locals in the border area have hired smugglers to get workers from Myanmar into the country due to COVID-19 restrictions. They were told the Chinese nationals worked in casinos in Myanmar.
Thailand yesterday reported five new imported coronavirus cases, four Thai women and one French woman, taking the total number of infections to 3,736. No new deaths were reported.
The Centre for COVID-19 Situation Administration (CCSA) said two Thai women tested positive on Thursday after arriving in Thailand from Bahrain on 18th October.
Also testing positive was a Thai woman who arrived from the United Kingdom on Monday. All three were asymptomatic.
Another Thai woman flew back from the United Arab Emirates on Friday and was found to be infected with COVID-19 on Tuesday after developing a cough and sore throat.
The only newly-infected foreigner was a French woman who flew into Thailand on Thursday and tested positive on arrival, despite a lack of symptoms.
She was the second French woman found to have contracted the virus in the past week. Another French national was being treated on Koh Samui after testing positive on Thursday.
