21 Myanmar workers, Chinese supervisor arrested at Samut Songkhram construction site

SAMUT SONGKHRAM – Authorities arrested 21 Myanmar workers and a Chinese site supervisor at a warehouse construction site in Samut Songkhram on Tuesday after finding that none had a valid work permit.

The operation was conducted at 13.40 on 27 October by the Internal Security Operations Command (ISOC) in Samut Songkhram, the provincial employment office and immigration police following a tip-off about the suspected illegal employment of foreign workers.

Officials inspected a construction site for a fish-feed storage warehouse in Bang Kaeo subdistrict, Muang district, where they found 16 men and five women from Myanmar working without valid immigration documents or work permits.

All 21 workers were charged with working without a permit and entering and staying in Thailand without permission, authorities said.

A Chinese national identified as GUANGZHI CAO was also found supervising workers at the site. Although he had entered and was staying in Thailand legally on a tourist visa, he did not have a work permit and was charged with working illegally.

The total number of people facing legal action was 22.

Authorities also said they would pursue charges against the construction contractor for employing foreign nationals without work permits, as well as allegations related to sheltering, concealing or assisting foreign nationals to evade arrest.

All 22 suspects were handed over to investigators at Muang Samut Songkhram Police Station for legal proceedings. Authorities said they would expand the investigation to identify others involved in bringing foreign workers into the area.

ISOC’s provincial office said the discovery raised concerns about foreign-owned business operations in the construction sector, the employment of undocumented workers and labour cost controls, which it said could affect local employment and economic security.