Banteay Meanchey authorities yesterday stepped up efforts to control the province’s porous border with Thailand following an incident on Saturday that saw a Cambodian migrant worker lose his leg to a landmine while attempting to evade Thai police.

According to Banteay Meanchey provincial council director Oung Eoun, the new measures include deploying soldiers to patrol the border in order to stop Cambodians crossing to Thailand in search of work. The patrols will also guard against the smuggling of people, drugs and commercial goods, he added.

Eoun warned that any officials caught colluding with traffickers or workers trying to cross without proper documentation could lose their jobs or even be sent to prison.

“The route is not only where the untaxed goods are smuggled, but it also serves as a way criminals use to trade timber and drugs as well,” he said.

Banteay Meanchey’s provincial deputy police chief Seth Los said he had ordered his officers to arrest and send to court job brokers operating in the province who he said lured people into crossing the border illegally.