Forty-seven Myanmar nationals hiding near a rubber plantation on the Malaysian-Thai border, sources said.

Authorities in Malaysia said they have arrested 47 Myanmar nationals for trying to enter Malaysia illegally on the night of June 18. The Migrant Times, a news outlet covering about Myanmar migrant workers, quoted a Malaysian press release saying that forty men and seven women trying to enter Malaysia through Thailand had been arrested for failing to bring official travel documents.

They were arrested by Malaysian security forces after a group of people were reportedly hiding near a rubber plantation on the Malaysian-Thai border. The authorities seized 34 mobile phones and some currencies from Thailand, China and Myanmar from them.

The Myanmar nationals have been handed over to the Bukit Kayu Hitam police station in Malaysia and will be prosecuted, Malaysian officials said. Myanmar nationals are crossing the border into Thailand and leaving for Malaysia via Thailand.

On June 19, the Deputy Secretary and officials of the embassy met with Myanmar nationals detained at the Tanah Merah Immigration Detention Center on the Malaysian-Thai border, according to the Myanmar embassy. A total of 103 people, including 78 men, 23 women and two children, were detained in the detention center. The embassy is coordinating with the relevant departments to repatriate the detained Myanmar citizens, who have documents.