Thai authorities arrested three Chinese nationals and 18 Myanmar nationals in separate operations in Sangkhla Buri District, Kanchanaburi Province, on 27 June, according to Thai media reports.

At around 11 a.m., officials at the Ran Tee Bridge checkpoint stopped a three-wheeled motorcycle carrying two Chinese nationals and found that their visas had expired. The pair were detained. At the same checkpoint, another Chinese national travelling on a passenger vehicle was also arrested after officers discovered that his permit had expired and he was staying in Thailand illegally.

The three Chinese nationals, along with the Thai driver of the three-wheeled motorcycle, were taken into custody at Sangkhla Buri Police Station.

Later that night, at about 11 p.m., a joint team comprising police, border patrol officers, checkpoint officials and local administrators searched a forest track behind an orange plantation in the Nong Lu area following reports that undocumented migrants had crossed from Myanmar. The operation resulted in the arrest of 18 Myanmar nationals, who were unable to produce legal documents. They were also transferred to Sangkhla Buri Police Station.

According to Thai reports, authorities have stepped up security along the Phaythonesu (Three Pagodas Pass) border area as undocumented migrants, including Chinese nationals, continue to cross from Myanmar into Thailand. On 29 June, Thai officials closed several illegal crossing points and tightened inspections at official checkpoints.

Earlier, on 14 and 15 June, Thai authorities also arrested 11 Chinese nationals who had entered Thailand illegally from the Myanmar side of the Three Pagodas Pass border area.