A Thai national has been arrested for attempting to illegally enter the country by crossing the Mekong River.
Police officers in Pak Ngum District, Vientiane Capital, arrested a Thai national yesterday for illegally entering the country.
The 44-year-old man from Phonphisay District, Nong Khai Province, Thailand, illegally crossed the Mekong River into Don Tai Village, Pak Ngum District, Vientiane Capital.
The man claimed that he wished to enter Laos to pay his respects at his mother’s grave, saying that his mother was Lao and that her remains were located in the temple at Don Tai Village.
“I just wanted to make an offering at my mother’s grave on the Lao side,” the man told authorities.
Public security officers in Vientiane Capital have increased border patrols along the Mekong River to protect against illegal entrants after increasing activity led to a surge in cases of Covid-19 earlier this month.
A notice was issued by the Vientiane Capital Taskforce for COVID-19 Prevention and Control last week grounding all boats.
The notice states that authorities in Pakngum, Sisattanak, Hatsayfong, Sikhottabong, and Sangthong districts in the capital are to coordinate with police and local authorities along the Mekong River in Thailand to monitor and prevent those illegally entering Laos from Thailand.
