ANG THONG — Thai highway police and immigration officers have arrested 22 illegal migrant workers and three alleged smugglers after stopping two pickup trucks on an Asian Highway route in Ang Thong province late on 19 January 2026, authorities said.
The arrests were made at about 23:30 on Highway 32 inbound to Bangkok, at kilometre marker 58+100 in Chaiyarit subdistrict, Chaiyo district. Officers became suspicious after spotting two pickup trucks travelling together at high speed, making sudden lane changes, fitted with dark window tint and with tarp covering the rear.
Police stopped the vehicles and found a total of 22 migrants from Myanmar hidden in the cabins and cargo beds. None had passports or valid travel documents, officers said.
One vehicle, a black Toyota Revo pickup with Bangkok registration, was driven by Ms. Khamla Lungsoi, 21, from Chiang Mai province, with Mr. Archan, 29, from Mae Hong Son province, as a passenger. The second vehicle, also a black Toyota Revo with Chiang Mai registration, was driven by Mr. Chai Kham, 23, a Myanmar national.
The operation was led by Pol. Lt. Col. Suphakorn Tangkprasert, chief inspector of Highway Police Subdivision 1, Division 1, under the Highway Police Bureau, working with officers from several highway police units and the Ayutthaya immigration police.
During questioning, the three suspects allegedly admitted they had been hired via the Line messaging application by a broker known as “Korling” to transport undocumented migrant workers from Chiang Rai province to Khlong Luang district in Pathum Thani province. They said they were paid between 3,000 and 3,500 baht per person and had carried out similar trips four times before.
The migrants told police through an interpreter that they had crossed into Thailand by boat from Myanmar via Mae Sai district in Chiang Rai, paying brokers about 13,000 baht each in hopes of finding work.
Police charged the three suspects with harbouring and assisting illegal migrants to evade arrest. The migrants were charged with entering and staying in the kingdom without permission. All were taken, along with the seized vehicles, to Chaiyo police station for further legal proceedings.
In an unusual moment during processing, officers learned it was the birthday of Sgt. Maj. Wichai Tamsamai, a squad leader with the highway police unit. Colleagues surprised him with a cake, and the detainees joined in clapping and singing a birthday song, police said.
