Midnight chase exposes smuggling route as Thai police nab driver hauling 25 undocumented Myanmar migrants

NAKHON SAWAN, THAILAND: Just before midnight on Jan 3, 2026, freeway police traversing and guarding identified trafficking paths noted a closed-box pickup van hurtling along Highway 122.

When officers signalled the driver to stop, he did the opposite, pressing the accelerator and fleeing into the night. The brief pursuit ended when the truck was abandoned on the roadside, its driver vanishing into nearby trees.

Police fanned out, eventually finding the suspect — a 31-year-old man identified as Mr Piyawut — hiding inside a corrugated iron shed not far from where the truck was left behind.

What awaited officers when they forced open the truck’s locked cargo compartment was deeply unsettling. Inside were 25 Myanmar migrant workers — nine men and 16 women — squeezed into the sealed space with barely enough room to move.

The air was stale, the heat trapped, and there were no safety measures in place. None had passports or work permits. For hours, they had travelled in silence, hidden from view, trusting strangers with their lives.

Police said the conditions were extremely dangerous and could have easily turned fatal, especially given the truck’s speed and lack of ventilation.

During questioning, Mr Piyawut confessed he agreed to move the group from Tak province to Talat Thai market in Pathum Thani for 5,000 baht. Detectives believe each refugee had paid about 20,000 baht to dealers — a very high fee that mirrors both their helplessness and their anticipation of getting employed.

Enforcement authorities suspect that the incident is part of a bigger trafficking web across numerous provinces, plundering migrants who see no other way to advance their plight.

The suspect and evidence were transferred to Mueang Nakhon Sawan Police Station for legal action. Meanwhile, officials are working to ensure the migrants’ immediate safety as their cases are processed under immigration and labour laws.

Police say they will continue stepping up patrols on major highways, stressing that behind every intercepted vehicle are real people — and that stopping smugglers is about preventing tragedy, not just enforcing the law.