21 Bangladeshis detained at resort in Thailand

22 illegal immigrants, including 21 Bangladeshis and a Myanmar national, have been arrested from a seaside resort owned by a retired government official in Thailand's Chana district. It is known that they were planning to smuggle them to Malaysia from there. Thai media outlet Bangkok Post reported this news.

Police said that although the resort was closed, there was a sound of speaking in a foreign language coming from inside. Police entered the entrance of an abandoned building through a narrow passage covered with tarpaulin and found 22 foreign nationals sitting in a pile. Among those arrested are 21 Bangladeshi men and a Myanmar woman. Their ages range from 20 to 46 years.

Songkhla Immigration Police and Tourism Police conducted a raid on the resort in the Na Thab area of ​​Chana district around 4:30pm on Wednesday (April 8). The search was conducted based on information that illegal immigrants were being hidden there.

After being detained, the migrants demanded the return of their mobile phones. They alleged that the resort owner had taken the phones.

During the operation, the resort's 66-year-old owner, Kritidet, was detained. He retired after serving in various important positions in the administrative and security departments of Songkhla province.

Kritidet denied involvement during initial interrogation. However, police recovered 16 mobile phones hidden in two boxes from under his bed. The migrants said they paid brokers 700,000 taka each to travel to Malaysia. They flew from Bangladesh to Cambodia and entered Thailand on foot through the Sa Kaeo border on April 4. They were later brought to the resort in several stages.

Kritidet has been charged with harboring and aiding illegal immigrants. Charges of illegal entry and stay have been filed against the detained Bangladeshi and Myanmar nationals. They are currently under legal proceedings at the Khuean Mead police station.