They were picked up by the Royal Thai Navy and taken to the Immigration Police station in Phang Nga, officials said.
Moken villagers in the Surin Islands – until now better known for their excellent diving – alerted the authorities that a group of Rohingya had swum to North Surin Island from Koh Stork, a distance of about two kilometres, in search of fresh water.
The Navy and Surin National Park officials then went to Koh Stork and there discovered the 106 Rohingyas, comprising of 15 woman, two children and 89 men, all in poor condition.
This morning the navy vessel Chonburi arrived to pick up the refugees and take them to Phang Nga.
A park officer said, “We had heard that Koh Stock was a place for illegal migrants or human trafficking victims to stop before they were sent off to other places and recently we have encountered and taken many Rohingya into custody on the Surin Islands.
“Many times these victims of trafficking were abandoned in temporary shelters or at sea, left to fight for their lives. This area are now being monitored for illegal migrants and human trafficking victims.”
At 10:30 this morning Phang Nga Governor Prayoon Rattansaenee and Pol Lt Gen Chalit Kaewyarat visited the 106 Rohingya.
Gov Prayoon told the press, “We visited the victims as a humanitarian act, to see how they are doing.
“The Immigration Police will be the ones who will be investigate and question the victims before they are sent home.
“The 106 we picked up are in addition 50 more Rohingya already in the cells here – that’s 156 people in a tiny cell. It is very crowded in there and all these people want is to seek refuge in our land.”