A total of 12 undocumented Myanmar nationals have been arrested in Sangkhla Buri District, Kanchanaburi Province, Thailand, according to reports from Thailand.

On the morning of June 1, a joint team of troops from the 9th Division of the Royal Thai Army, the Border Guard Police, the Sangkhla Buri District Administration, and the Sangkhla Buri Police Station conducted a surveillance and area search in the forest near Win Ka Ward in Sangkhla Buri town.

During the area search, a group of people were found hiding in the forest. Thai authorities arrested 12 Myanmar nationals who did not speak Thai and could not produce any legal documents, according to Thai news reports.

Thai authorities, through an interpreter, examined the undocumented Myanmar nationals and found that they had entered Thailand through illegal routes from the Phayathonzu town on the Myanmar side. Thai news reports said that they had been paid between 15,000 and 20,000 baht each to work in Thailand and that they were arrested before they could reach their workplaces.

The 12 undocumented Myanmar nationals who were arrested are being held at the Sangkhla Buri Police Station and are being processed for legal action in accordance with Thai law.

In June, at least 170 undocumented Myanmar nationals were arrested by Thai authorities in Kanchanaburi Province, Thailand.