Police intercepted an alleged human trafficking gang smuggling illegal Burmese workers into Thailand.

Highway police were monitoring traffic when they noticed the 'suspicious' pickup truck with its cargo bed covered in cloth, on January 19. Officers said they flagged the vehicle as it 'weighed more than an average pickup truck'.

The driver Chai Han Ong, 25, pulled over and was said to have been acting strangely as he constantly fidgeted with his phone. Police then opened the truck cabin and found 12 Burmese passengers crammed inside.

Footage shows the illegal workers climbing one by one out of the pickup. The cops removed the cloth over the cargo bed and found even more passengers concealed underneath.

Police Lieutenant Colonel Worabodin Lertsupasinsathit, superintendent of the Highway Police Sub-Division 5, said: 'The incident occurred amid our crackdown on illegal workers entering the country with the help of Thai locals.

'The officers were patrolling Highway 11 and found a gray Toyota pickup truck driving by. There was reasonable suspicion that it was smuggling illegal foreigners so they signalled for it to stop for an inspection.

'The inspection found that Mr. Chai Ong was acting suspiciously and was using his phone the entire time. There were 12 other people in the pickup truck. They were taken to the police station and they could not produce passports and entry documents.'

Chai Ong allegedly admitted he was hired to transport the workers. He said it was his second time doing so, and was paid 3,000 baht per trip.

The Burmese nationals also reportedly confessed they had entered Thailand illegally to find jobs.

Police said they will be charged with illegal entry into Thailand, while the driver will be charged with assisting illegal migrants to enter the country.

Thailand's neighbour Myanmar has fallen into civil war following the removal of democratically elected leader Aung San Suu Kyi, a Nobel Peace Prize winner, with a military coup in 2021.

Soldiers responded with barbaric force on protesting civilians leading to widespread condemnation and financial sanctions. Rebel groups and civilian militias around the country have since been locked in a series of ongoing clashes with the ruling military.

Aung San Suu Kyi has since been jailed for 33 years on politically motivated charges and is likely to die behind bars unless the army is toppled - a tragic end the politician hailed by Barack Obama as an 'inspirational icon of democracy'.