Over 300 Myanmar migrants have been arrested in Thailand in March as illegal immigrants.

According to the data compiled on the arrests of these illegal immigrants by the news media in Thailand, most of them entered Thailand to seek jobs and some intended to go to Malaysia through Thailand.

The Thai media reported that Thai authorities arrested 43 Myanmar migrant workers along with a Thai driver found on a bus in Nakhon Pathom Province in Thailand on 22 March.

These 43 migrant workers were on their way to a coconut warehouse in Bankhon Mae village, Damnoen Saduak District, Ratchaburi Province from the coconut warehouse in Nakhon Pathom Province when they were arrested.

Moreover, Thai authorities raided and searched a 4-storyed building in Mae Pa village, Mae Sod on 22 March where Myanmar nationals were staying and then they questioned all the people found there and finally they took two Myanmar youths into custody.

The people staying in that area said that the Thai authorities questioned over 100 Myanmar nationals found there but not arrested them. They took away only two young boys along with some material found there with them.

Many people fled to Thailand after the coup in Myanmar and about 50,000 of them are reportedly taking refuge in Mae Sod and nearby areas.

Myanmar permanent representative to UN Kyaw Moe Tun said that about half of the population of Myanmar was under the poverty line after the coup and the women and girls were facing the danger of being trafficked.

About 1.6 million people became internally displaced persons (IDPs) and over 17.6 million need humanitarian assistance, he added.

Almost every day Myanmar nationals are arrested on the Thai-Myanmar border when they tried to enter Thailand illegally to seek a job. NGOs working for Myanmar migrant workers said that most of them were lured by the agents with lucrative job offers and then these workers were trafficked by these agents and brokers.