Fear of virus variants spurs Thai border crackdown

Border police are beefing up security and enforcement to curtail illegal entries for fear they will worsen the COVID-19 crisis and spread more deadly and more contagious variants. 

The policy is driven by the latest wave of anxiety amplified by the arrest of two taxi drivers Sunday in the southern city of Hat Yai who were hired to transport 10 Myanmar nationals across the border from Malaysia.

The two drivers – identified as 47-year-old Abdulrahman Konngkalimun and 51-year-old Siriwat Suwanmanee – reportedly confessed that they took THB1,500 (US$48) each to transport the group of men and women, according to Col. Ayupan Kannasut, commander of the 5th Infantry Regiment Task Force.

Brazilian variant in Thai state quarantine adds to worry over imported mutations

They were taken for COVID-19 testing immediately, according to Ayupan. The police said some paid upward…