Smuggling Ring Cracked

[george]

Smuggling ring cracked

Police yesterday cracked a gang specialising in smuggling Cambodian children into Thailand to beg on the streets of Bangkok.

As the noose tightened on the ring, several children were detained at Talat Rong Klua in Sa Kaew province along with forged border passes and the money they had earned.

The amount they had been paid varied according to their age.

A search of pickups converted into passenger vehicles, known as songtaew, that were shuttling passengers between Aran and Talat Rong Klua turned up three women and four children, all Cambodian nationals. Police questioned them after two produced invalid passports, deputy inspector Captain Wichan Jitayanan said.

Five Cambodians, including four children, were yesterday released and returned to Poi Pet.

Yong Wisu, 36, a native of Poi Pet, said Cambodian smugglers found children in droves and supplied them as beggars in Bangkok. Prices ranged from Bt2,000 for a baby to Bt1,000 for a child aged between one and 10-years-old. Parents who wanted to escort their children to Bangkok were forced to pay own fare to the capital, or catch motorcycle taxis to Tha Kasem train station in Sa Kaew’s Muang district.

--The Nation 2004-02-12