Kanchanaburi: The Surasee Task Force, in collaboration with military, police, and administrative officials, has initiated a comprehensive operation to intercept and detain illegal immigrants and smuggled goods along the border of Kanchanaburi Province.

According to Thai News Agency, the operation was launched after a local informant’s tip-off about the illegal movement of foreign workers and goods from the Kanchanaburi border into inner regions. Mr. Athisan Intra, Governor of Kanchanaburi Province, along with Maj. Gen. Natthaphong Atsawinwong, Commander of the 9th Infantry Division and the Surasee Task Force, have mobilized resources to address these illegal activities.

Maj. Gen. Atsawinwong has tasked Col. Pansak Preawphanit, Commander of the 29th Infantry Regiment and the Lat Ya Task Force, and Col. Piyanes Phattharasasawatwong, Deputy Commander of the Lat Ya Task Force, to coordinate with the 134th, 135th, and 136th Border Patrol Police Companies, along with local police and administrative bodies. Together, they have deployed approximately 30 personnel to patrol and set up checkpoints along identified routes.

In a significant arrest, officers stopped a suspicious pickup truck at an abandoned gas station in Sai Yok District. The vehicle, with a Nakhon Sawan license plate, was found to be carrying 25 illegal immigrants from Myanmar. The group, consisting of 18 men and 7 women, admitted to using natural routes to bypass security checkpoints, aiming to reach Nakhon Pathom and Samut Sakhon provinces. They had paid a broker 25,000 baht each for the journey. The authorities apprehended them for illegal entry and have since initiated their prosecution and deportation.

In a separate incident at the Nam Krik Joint Checkpoint in Sangkhla Buri District, officers detained an individual under the Excise Tax Act of 2017. They seized 48 cartons of tax-evaded cigarettes, 15 bottles of tax-evaded liquor, and 48 cans of tax-evaded beer. The discovery was made possible by using an X-ray machine to search the suspect’s vehicle.