Over 100 suspects face human trafficking charges in Thailand
More than 100 people, including an influential army general as well as several authorities and politicians, have been implicated in Thailand in a horrific human trafficking scandal, spreading internationally, from Myanmar and Bangladesh to Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia.
“Ninety-one Thais, nine Myanmar nationals and four Bangladeshis face 16 charges, including human trafficking, partaking in a transnational crime network, and assisting or bringing in aliens into the kingdom illegally,” said Wanchai Roujanavong, spokesman for the Thai Office of the Attorney General (OAG).
The spokesperson told reporters in the Thai capital, Bangkok, on Friday that investigations had disclosed a big syndicate was involved in bringing migrants into the country systematically.
“There were a lot of damages. Bodies were found. Senior officials were accused, as well as influential figures,” he said.
The suspects include high-ranking Thai army officer Lieutenant General Manas Kongpan, who once supervised human trafficking crimes in southern Thailand, as well as local politicians, government officials and dozens of police officers.
“We will not let influential people rise above justice,” said the OAG spokesman Wanchai Roujanavong in another interview on Thursday.
The investigation follows international pressure on Thailand to crack down on human smugglers after the discovery of mass graves, believed to contain the bodies of refugees, in jungle camps in the country's south near the Thai-Malaysian border in May. Images have also emerged of thousands of other migrants from Bangladesh and Myanmar stranded in Southeast Asian waters earlier this year.
Over the past months, thousands of persecuted Rohingya Muslims from Myanmar and Bangladeshi boat people have been stranded in dire conditions at sea, awaiting to be rescued and taken to neighboring countries including Malaysia and Indonesia.
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