Bangkok: Thai police has arrested three Pakistani men and two from Myanmar on charges of illegal entry and are probing if they have any terrorist links, Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra said on August 23.

"They are all Muslims – three Pakistanis and two from Myanmar. They were showing suspicious behaviour that might connect them to a terrorist group," the Premier said.

"Initially they were arrested on immigration charges, we must question them before we can decide whether they are terrorists or not," Thaksin said in his weekly radio address.

He said, "If they are found to be members of a terrorist organisation, they will be prosecuted under the anti-terrorist decrees. If not, they will be tried for illegal entry."

A sixth person, a Thai, was also arrested for giving shelter to the five suspects, who were nabbed in the Northern city of Chiang Mai on August 22 during a raid on their rented house, the 'Nation' newspaper reported.

It quoted police as saying that they have found framed pictures of Osama bin Laden hanging on the walls of the house where the six were staying. Police said the presence of the men in Thailand "is very suspicious. We will invite the US Consul's office in Chiang Mai to join in investigation."

One of the Pakistanis did not have a proper visa and the other two had expired passports, the 'Bangkok Post' daily quoted police as saying.

The 'Nation' said the Pakistanis had entered the country from Malaysia through a land border crossing in Southern Thailand.

PTI