The people were reportedly living in Burma without valid documentation.

The Kachin State Immigration Department reported deporting 11 Chinese nationals on Thursday after detaining them in Waingmaw Township for allegedly living in Burma without the required documentation.

Ten of the people were put into detention after trying to pass a checkpoint in the border town of Sadung on May 26; one was detained after involvement in a car accident in Waingmaw.

“We deported 11 Chinese nationals today after we got an order from the state government,” an immigration officer in Waingmaw told KNG on the condition of anonymity. “The immigration department made the decision to deport them. We deported them after we got permission from the state government.”

Each of the 11 people were charged with violating Article 13(1) of Burma’s Immigration Act and fined 500,000 kyat (US$327).

According to immigration officers, 12 Chinese nationals have been detained in the Myoma police station in Waingmaw Township on visa overstays. However, the companies they are affiliated with are currently facing charges for allegedly trying to grow crops—including tissue culture bananas—on forest reservations.

“We are trying to take action against the companies and their owners who have done agribusiness on protected forest land,” the manager of the forest department in the township told KNG.

The companies facing charges are Malikha Naga, Myoset Kyae Pwint, Loi Ngu Bum, Shein Tha and Jinghpaw Nady.