Seven Bangladeshi nationals, masquerading as Buddhist monks to bypass immigration scrutiny, have been apprehended yesterday within the southern province of Songkhla, Thailand. The arrest was a collaborative operation between Songkhla immigration officers and Hat Yai tourist police, following an nameless tip-off.
The males, who had shaven their heads and donned monk robes in their attempts to blend in and evade the authorities, were on their approach to Malaysia. Among them, a forty six year previous, known only as Rupdah, confessed to leading the group.
Upon deeper investigation, the authorities discovered that the group had entered Thailand via an unmarked route in Mae Sot District, Tak Province, from Myanmar, having initially journeyed from Bangladesh. Their final destination was Malaysia, with a deliberate stopover in Narathiwat, reported The Pattaya News.
The men had regular clothing and lacked any monk identification paperwork. This discovery sparked suspicions about their true identities. Smooth sailing of monk identification paperwork and the presence of normal garments amongst their belongings led to the conclusion that they were not monks as that they had claimed to be.
Consequently, the seven males have been charged with illegal entry into Thailand. After renouncing their feigned monkhood at Wat Khok Samankhun, they had been transported to Hat Yai Police Station. There, they await the legal proceedings for their deportation back to Bangladesh.
In related news earlier this year, police apprehended a fifty three year previous resident of the Buriram province, who had been disguising himself as a monk to deceive local temple heads.
Phanuphong, also recognized as Oat, used his clever ruse to swindle greater than 180,000 baht (US$5,100) from Monhkol Jatsanlo, an 82 12 months old abbot from Buriram, last June.
Now in the custody of the police, Phanuphon has confessed to his wrongdoings. He admitted his likeness to the individual seen within the closed-circuit television footage, and that he utilised the stolen funds to support his new wife’s fruit-selling enterprise. To read extra click on HERE.
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