Thailand will free five Cambodian migrants jailed for working illegally, who will be returned alongside some 100 other nationals as part of a joint crackdown on migrant labour.

A Foreign Ministry spokesman yesterday confirmed the Thai court’s decision to release the group, arrested in August on accusations of smuggling petrol into the country.

The announcement coincided with the repatriation from Thailand of nearly 100 Cambodian workers on Saturday at Poipet.

Sin Nam Yong, a Poipet commune official, explained that while Cambodians were sent back every day, Saturday’s mass repatriation reflects an intensifying effort to enforce migration law by both Cambodia and Thailand.

“There were around 100 in just one day because the Thais want to strengthen their work on immigration,” she said.

The developments follow last week’s ASEAN migration summit in Phnom Penh, where officials discussed measures to combat illegal immigration and transnational crime in the region.

Hun Pin, who is among the returned workers, said that he would try to return to Thailand after obtaining legal documents.