Yangon, June 20 (IANS): Myanmar authorities will repatriate the remaining batch of boat people to their countries of origin after the verification process is completed, the foreign affairs ministry said on Saturday.
According to sources, there are now only 13 remaining boat people in Myanmar, Xinhua reported.
An official statement issued earlier on June 8 said that 150 people among 200 rescued by the Myanmar navy on May 21 that was patrolling off the western coast of Maungdaw in western Rakhine state, were deported to Bangladesh, their country of origin, after citizenship verification.
Investigation by the Myanmar government found that some of the boat people were victims of human trafficking and crime syndicates after receiving illegal job offers in Thailand and Malaysia.