PUBLISHED : 30 Oct 2024 at 04:40
The police’s Anti-Trafficking in Persons Division (ATPD) is stepping up efforts to help rescue about 110 trafficking victims in Myanmar.
Pol Maj Gen Sarut Kwaengsopha, commander of the ATPD, said on Tuesday the division will work with the Foreign Affairs Ministry, the police attache at the Thai embassy in Myanmar and the chairman of the Township Border Committee to find ways to help save them.
The move comes after the Civil Society Network for Victim Assistance in Human Trafficking on Saturday sent open letters urging Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra, agencies concerned and the embassies of nine countries to take action to help secure the release of 110 victims of trafficking.
Regarding foreigners who are rescued and brought back to Thailand, they will undergo the national referral mechanism process that is designed to identify, protect and assist victims of trafficking, Pol Maj Gen Sarut said.
The network said the victims from nine countries were lured by a Chinese mafia syndicate and forced to work as scammers in Myanmar.
The network sent similar letters to leaders of ethnic armed groups in Myawaddy, in Myanmar’s Karen State, including the Karen Border Guard Force (BGF) and the Democratic Karen Buddhist Army (DKBA).
It said 36 Filipinos and one Moroccan are being held in the BGF-controlled area, while 73 people from various countries are in DKBA-controlled territory.
It said a transnational syndicate led by Chinese nationals used social media to offer high-paying jobs in Thailand.
The victims were forced to illegally cross the border into Myanmar through Tak’s Mae Sot district.
“Given Thailand’s recent election to the United Nations Human Rights Council for 2025-2027, this is a critical moment for the nation to actively support humanitarian rescue operations,” the network said.