The Thai authorities arrested 246 Burmese migrants and four guides in six border areas across four districts of Kanchanaburi Province in western Thailand, on Friday 11 February and Saturday 12 February, reports the Bangkok Post.

The report says the migrants say they paid job brokers between 15,000 and 25,000 Thai baht to get them jobs in several Thai provinces. Of the 246 migrants, 156 were men, and 108 were women.

The four guides who were helping the migrants were charged with assisting illegal border crossers.

The Thai authorities frequently arrest big groups of illegal migrants all over the country. A representative from a migrant labour development network who spoke to the Bangkok Post estimated that the Thai authorities caught 80,000 illegal border crossers last year, most of whom were Burmese. He also estimated that another 100,000 illegal migrants had successfully evaded the Thai authorities and are now working in Thailand.