Tuesday, April 03, 2012

28 illegal Cambodians arrested

2/04/2012
Bangkok Post

SA KAEO -- Police arrested 28 Cambodians, including young children, who were smuggled into Thailand and found hiding in a forest grove, and say they planned to work as beggars for a gang operating in Pattaya and Bangkok over Songkran.

Police found the 28 Cambodians, including 13 young children, hiding in the trees in Sa Kaeo's Aranyaprathet district on Monday. They had no travel documents.

This morning, police were informed by Ranger Task Force 1206 that Cambodian beggars were being smuggled into Thailand. There were many young children among. It was believed the traffickers intended to use them to beg for money in Pattaya and in Bangkok during the Songkran festival.


The arrested group admitted illegally entering Thailand from Poipet in Cambodia. They said they were waiting for a bus to take them to jobs in Pattaya and Bangkok.

Police did not believe them because there were many young children in the group. It was more likely they were headed for work as beggars in popular tourist destinations such as Pattaya and Bangkok during the Thai New Year, police said.

All the suspects were detained by immigration police for legal action.

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