Thai immigration authorities detain 68 illegal [sic] migrant workers

Thai immigration authorities detain 68 illegal [sic] migrant workers

Thailand’s immigration authorities arrested 68 Myanmar illegal migrant workers near Mae Sot on October 3, sources said.

About 100 officials from Thai immigration department, No.14 Special Forces, No.346 Border Patrol Police, policemen and department of employment were involved in the operation to arrest the illegal migrant workers.

Some illegal workers reportedly managed to escape arrest. Authorities detained 133 total Myanmar migrant workers: 87 men, 30 women and 16 children.

Among them, migrant workers with official documents supporting their eligibility of employment as well as children were set free. However, 68 workers were found to be illegal, said Moe Gyo, Chairman of Joint Action Committee for Burmese Affairs (JACBA).

“A total of 58 out of 68 Myanmar migrant workers arrived here with a six-day stay permit and their permits were expired. They will be taken action against under the new labour law,” said Manatipatip, head of immigration department, who supervised the operation.

Seven townships including Mae Sot in Tak Province have over 200 factories running officially and supposedly over 1,000 illegal factories. They are providing job opportunities for about 200,000 Myanmar migrant workers and many illegal Myanmar workers are employed in those factories.

More operations will be conducted to combat increasing crime rates, human trafficking cases and illegal entry issues.

Written by: Ko Shwe Thein
Source: Eleven Myanmar
Published on 4 October 2018