21 Bangladeshis arrested from Thai resort

Thailand's immigration police have arrested 21 Bangladeshi illegal immigrants and a Myanmar woman from a seaside resort in Songkhla province.

According to a report by local media outlet Bangkok Post , they were arrested on charges of entering and staying in the country illegally.

The report said the raid was carried out on Wednesday afternoon based on a tip-off. At the time, the migrants without identity cards were hiding in a secret room inside the resort, packed together.

The arrested persons are between the ages of 20 and 46. They were staying there with the intention of illegally going to Malaysia. It is learnt that the Bangladeshi migrants paid the brokers around 7 lakh taka each.

The resort's owner, 66-year-old Kritidet, was also arrested during the raid. However, he claimed to know nothing about the migrants.

According to police sources, the Bangladeshi migrants first flew to Cambodia. They then entered Thailand on foot through Sa Kaeo province on April 4. After staying at a hotel for two days, they were moved to different locations. They were brought to the resort in a pickup truck early Wednesday morning.

Formal charges have been filed against the detainees and they have been handed over to the Khuwan Mead Police Station for further legal proceedings.