Picture courtesy: Thai Rath

 

On 12 November, Police Lieutenant General Prachuap Wongsuk, Acting Deputy Police Chief of Thailand, successfully intervened to prevent a human trafficking incident involving five Chinese tourists who intended to travel to Pattaya.

 

Instead, they were misled by their driver and diverted to the Thai-Myanmar border at the Mae Sot checkpoint in Tak Province, almost falling victim to a suspected call centre gang in Myawaddy, Myanmar.

 

The incident occurred while Lt. Gen. Prachuap was at the Tak Immigration Office near the Thai-Myanmar border for a meeting with various anti-trafficking and cross-border crime agencies.

 

During the meeting, local officials reported suspicious activity at the Ban Huai Hin Fon checkpoint, a key security post on the Mae Sot-Tak Road. Upon inspection, officers found five Chinese nationals—both men and women travelling in a private vehicle.

 

Assisted by a Chinese interpreter, authorities verified their documents and interviewed the group, who explained they were en route to Pattaya when their driver diverted them to the Mae Sot border crossing.

The Chinese tourists expressed shock at the sudden change in route and the dangerous situation they had unwittingly entered.

 

Authorities suspect that, had the vehicle gone undetected, the tourists could have been transported across the border to Myawaddy, where they might have been coerced into working for criminal call centre organisations.

 

Picture courtesy: Thai Rath

 

Following their rescue, officials facilitated the safe transfer of the group back on their journey to Pattaya, ensuring they avoided becoming victims of human trafficking. Simultaneously, security forces inspected other trafficking victims at the Tak Province Human Trafficking Victim Support Centre.

 

Lt. Gen. Prachuap emphasised the government’s commitment to combating human trafficking and cross-border crime. In collaboration with international and local agencies, Thailand aims to increase border security, particularly along key routes that traffickers use to transport victims to third countries, reported Thai Rath.

 

-- 2024-11-13

 

 

What of the driver?

The Chinese tourists did not realize that there is no need to cross any border on the way to Pattaya 🤔🤪

34 minutes ago, OneManShow said:

The Chinese tourists did not realize that there is no need to cross any border on the way to Pattaya 🤔🤪

5 Chinese and no working GPS.... hey driver where are you going?

So they were okay going to Pattaya for working at a call center? I can’t believe that they didn’t know what they were getting into. Just the wrong location. Send them back home and please go get the rest. 

2 hours ago, OneManShow said:

The Chinese tourists did not realize that there is no need to cross any border on the way to Pattaya 🤔🤪

"The Chinese tourists expressed shock at the sudden change in route"

They knew something was wrong.

Mae Sot is a serious diversion from Pattaya. That's like a 12 hour trip by car at least. Were they held at gunpoint? I'm sure they had to make a few stops for refueling and toilet breaks. I'm sure they all knew that they weren't going to Pattaya and not sure why they didn't refuse to continue at some point during the journey. 

9 hours ago, jcmj said:

So they were okay going to Pattaya for working at a call center? I can’t believe that they didn’t know what they were getting into. Just the wrong location. Send them back home and please go get the rest. 

No. The article doesn't say they were going to Pattaya to work at a call center. It says they were tourists. Read the article again.