accused of providing” slaves labor” to fishermen who trawl for food
PUBLISHED: 17 Sep 2024 at 17: 06
After being on the work for more than ten years, authorities have detained a woman on suspicion of human smuggling in connection with forced labor on fishing trawlers.
Sompong Sroithong, 62, was taken into custody after officers stopped her pickup truck in Muang district of Samut Prakan on Monday, said Pol Maj Gen Sarut Kwaengsopha, commander of the police Anti-Trafficking in Persons Division ( ATPD).
Ms. Sompong was one of five suspects listed in a 2012 criminal court permit. Prior to this, everyone else had been apprehended.
A Thai-African target complained to the Social Development and Welfare Department in 2012, alleging that he had been defrauded by a promise of beautiful pay to work on a hunting boat.
According to the police, the man claimed that Ms. Sompong forced him to work as a prisoner laborer on several trawlers. After being saved by the staff of a Asian cargo ship, he was suddenly dumped into the Gulf of Thailand by a captain.
According to Pol Maj Gen Sarut, an investigation revealed that Ms. Sompong was the leader of a group that exploited Thai people and foreigners to work as slaves on hunting vessels.
The ATPD commander, who did not give information about the prior expenses, claimed that she had been imprisoned for three times before being released.