24 migrant workers detained at data center construction site in Thailand, many flee

Thai authorities arrested 24 foreign workers at an under-construction Chinese-run data centre site in Ban Chang district, Rayong, on Tuesday after checks found permit violations, the Bangkok Post reported.

The arrested workers were 20 Myanmar nationals and four Chinese nationals, according to the report. Officials found they lacked proper immigration and work permits, and legal proceedings began at Ban Chang police station.

The Rayong Immigration Office said the site covered more than 100 rai in Village 6 in tambon Ban Chang. An initial inspection found more than 400 people reportedly working and staying at a camp set up at the data centre project, which was funded by Chinese investors.

Police and Provincial Employment Office officials raided the site at around 10am, causing several workers to flee, the report said. Officials said some jumped into a nearby canal and swam away.

Immigration police have been contacted to begin deportation procedures, and authorities filed complaints against three unnamed contractors for hiring foreign workers without permits. The former owner of the site, previously a golf course, said he had only sold the property and had no role in the illegal employment. "The workers were under the direct supervision and management of the project," he was quoted as saying.

No details of the project owner have been uncovered, the Bangkok Post reported. Local media said construction had been under way for several months and that residents had asked authorities to inspect the project’s impact on the community; district authorities said last week they found no evidence of encroachment on a public canal but would conduct an official land survey.