Thai police identify alleged 'money man' behind Rohingya labour trafficking

[webfact]

HUMAN TRAFFICKING
'Trafficking bag man' named
The Nation



Police identify alleged 'money man' behind Rohingya labour trafficking

BANGKOK: -- POLICE yesterday obtained an arrest warrant for a man they said was a key finanicer behind the entire Rohingya trafficking racket in the South.

The suspect, the 50th and latest wanted in connection with human labour trafficking in the region, has been identified as fugitive Pajjuban Angchotiphan, or Ko Tong. He is a brother of a high-ranking local politician based in Satun.

National police chief General Somyot Poompangmoung, meanwhile, has floated the idea of opening a temporary centre to shelter Rohingya and other migrants in the South to cope with the large number of them scattered throughout the area.

Somyot said that he would meet with his Malaysian counterpart in Phuket on Wednesday to discuss the Rohingya smuggling crisis. Malaysia is the prime destination of 'boat people' after they are smuggled to Thailand.

The Royal Thai Police commissioner said he was ready to keep transferring police of various units if they were suspected of ties with human traffickers or who deemed incompetent - in their previous roles or carrying out the ongoing crackdown on trafficking.

Another 14 police have been transferred away from areas where trafficking has taken place. In all, 67 officers have been transferred.

Somyot said anyone found not guilty after an internal investigation would return to their previous post.

He promised to look into an allegation about a senior immigration policeman based in Songkhla's Sadao district accused of using a service vehicle to transport Rohingya.

Another 10 police are set to be transferred to inactive positions while being investigated. Somyot did not give further details.

Malaysia-based daily The Star reported yesterday that Thai and Malaysian police were expected to meet in Hat Yai on Friday to discuss the human trafficking issues plaguing both nations.

Abandoned, nearly starved

The move will see authorities from both sides going all out in their clampdown on the nefarious trade following the recent discovery by Thai police of trafficking camps on a mountain on the Thai-Malaysian border in Padang Besar in Songkhla, and scores of migrant corpses in shallow graves.

Provincial Police Region 9 Deputy Commissioner Puthichart Ekachant said the meeting with their Malaysian counterparts would likely be held in Hat Yai but he did not give further details.

Meanwhile, a group of 151 Rohingya will be charged with illegal entry after it was found they voluntarily entered Thailand unlawfully.

A Rohingya man will be charged with human trafficking after police discovered he served as a guard who controlled Rohingya detainees at a camp.

A group of 26 Rohingya was left stranded in the jungles in Hat Yai district for 14 days, after they were abandoned by smugglers following the crackdown.

The group, including six boys and three girls, are nearly starved. They ate dry tamarind seeds to survive.

Source: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/national/Trafficking-bag-man-named-30259836.html


-- The Nation 2015-05-12

[simon43]

he Royal Thai Police commissioner said he was ready to keep transferring police...

Stop transferring! Start sacking, arresting, charging,, jailing!

[kimamey]

he Royal Thai Police commissioner said he was ready to keep transferring police...

Stop transferring! Start sacking, arresting, charging,, jailing!

I think I they have to have an investigation first as they would elsewhere. The OP does mention this.

[BSJ]

he Royal Thai Police commissioner said he was ready to keep transferring police...

Stop transferring! Start sacking, arresting, charging,, jailing!

I think they need proof of wrongdoing before they can be charged. And a day in court to get a judges ruling.

[ExPratt]

There are 8000 of them waiting to get in stuck on boats , Haven't seen it on TVF anywhere

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-32686328

[EricBerg]

There are 8000 of them waiting to get in stuck on boats , Haven't seen it on TVF anywhere

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-32686328

I pasted the link a few hours ago in a comment 15 minutes after i read it in a Dutch news site, 15 mins later BBC had it (this link). Then CNN and German and French newssites had it. My comment with link is still "alive",. The Nation and the other paper have nothing about this huge problem.

An estimated 8000 refugees are in boats off the Thai coast. The traffickers will not dare to go ashore with them under the present crackdown. I fear there will be a big problem feeding the people after staying on sea days longer. What will the criminals do next? Kick the refugees overboard and make a run for it? Let's hope the Thai navy will try to find the many boats carrying the refugees and save them. But I have no clue if Thai or Malaysian or any other navy are making efforts in this. It is a big news item in quite a few western countries.

[NongKhaiKid]

There are 8000 of them waiting to get in stuck on boats , Haven't seen it on TVF anywhere

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-32686328

I pasted the link a few hours ago in a comment 15 minutes after i read it in a Dutch news site, 15 mins later BBC had it (this link). Then CNN and German and French newssites had it. My comment with link is still "alive",. The Nation and the other paper have nothing about this huge problem.

An estimated 8000 refugees are in boats off the Thai coast. The traffickers will not dare to go ashore with them under the present crackdown. I fear there will be a big problem feeding the people after staying on sea days longer. What will the criminals do next? Kick the refugees overboard and make a run for it? Let's hope the Thai navy will try to find the many boats carrying the refugees and save them. But I have no clue if Thai or Malaysian or any other navy are making efforts in this. It is a big news item in quite a few western countries.

BBC is reporting the Indonesian navy has already turned away 2 boatloads reaching their territorial waters.

[davehowden]

Same as with Libya in Europe, cure the disease not the symptoms.

[NextStationBangkok]

After taking money, ask them to board in the board for safe location for work. But they will never return anywhere!

Internationals community closed their eyes. Sounds like modern holocaust for money!

[Prbkk]

Come on Gen Prayut....step up to the plate on this and deal with it without fear or favour, as promised. Failure to do so or any attempt at cover up or obfuscation will lead to international condemnation, sanctions and ultimately the prospect of those responsible ending up in the International Criminal Court.

[seedy]

one libel defamation post removed

6) You will not post comments that could be reasonably construed as defamation or libel.
Defamation is the issuance of a statement about another person or business which causes that person to
suffer harm. It does not have to be false to be defamatory. Libel is when the defamatory statement is
published either in a drawing, painting, cinematography, film, picture or letters made visible by any
means, or any other recording instruments, recording picture or letters, or by broadcasting or spreading
picture, or by propagation by any other means. Defamation is both a civil and criminal charge in
Thailand.

[IamNoone88]

The reality of the phrase "Getting away with murder".

[AlQaholic]

Surprising that the UN is not doing more??

[dcutman]

There are 8000 of them waiting to get in stuck on boats , Haven't seen it on TVF anywhere

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-32686328

I pasted the link a few hours ago in a comment 15 minutes after i read it in a Dutch news site, 15 mins later BBC had it (this link). Then CNN and German and French newssites had it. My comment with link is still "alive",. The Nation and the other paper have nothing about this huge problem.

An estimated 8000 refugees are in boats off the Thai coast. The traffickers will not dare to go ashore with them under the present crackdown. I fear there will be a big problem feeding the people after staying on sea days longer. What will the criminals do next? Kick the refugees overboard and make a run for it? Let's hope the Thai navy will try to find the many boats carrying the refugees and save them. But I have no clue if Thai or Malaysian or any other navy are making efforts in this. It is a big news item in quite a few western countries.

BBC is reporting the Indonesian navy has already turned away 2 boatloads reaching their territorial waters.

The Thai's are doing the same.

Thai police spokesman Lieutenant General Prawut Thawornsiri said the crackdown in people smuggling had prompted the rush of arrivals elsewhere.

"Yes, our crackdown is affecting the boats," he told Reuters news agency in Bangkok.

"They are going to Indonesia. Why else would they go to Indonesia? It is so far ... our job is to block the boats and not let them land on our shores." http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-05-12/refugees-arrive-in-malaysia-and-indonesia-after-thai-crackdown/6461980

Now if Malaysia gets in on this game, there are gonna be thousand of dead bodies floating around everywhere.

Most likely there is already, but it will get worse if these smugglers have no place dry to let these people off.

[Godders]

Thai and Malaysian police were expected to meet in Hat Yai on Friday to discuss the human trafficking issues plaguing both nations.

They will doubtless be carrying large buckets of whitewash, along with any military, local government and central government representatives press-ganged into investigating this lucrative sickening trade in human flesh.

You might as well as foxes to check up on carnage in a chicken coop.

What is urgently needed here is an independent inquiry, and preferably one involving humanitarian agencies, with independent observers from concerned countries and/or the UN.

Anything less will further tarnish the image of Thailand as a nation of serial human rights abusers.

[Lorn]

1. It goes up the ladder much higher than simply this "money man" and his politician (scumbag) brother.

2. 67 Royal Thai Police officers have been transferred ... that kind of sums it all up and tells you exactly who is involved and who's been raking in the money over the past decade or so. They've made themselves a nice little nest egg thanks to Thaksin's patronage and protection.

Interesting that you blame Thaksin. I thought it was well known that powerful politicians in the South were generally not of the red persuasion.

[ExPratt]

<script type='text/javascript'>window.mod_pagespeed_start = Number(new Date());</script>

There are 8000 of them waiting to get in stuck on boats , Haven't seen it on TVF anywhere

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-32686328

I pasted the link a few hours ago in a comment 15 minutes after i read it in a Dutch news site, 15 mins later BBC had it (this link). Then CNN and German and French newssites had it. My comment with link is still "alive",. The Nation and the other paper have nothing about this huge problem.

An estimated 8000 refugees are in boats off the Thai coast. The traffickers will not dare to go ashore with them under the present crackdown. I fear there will be a big problem feeding the people after staying on sea days longer. What will the criminals do next? Kick the refugees overboard and make a run for it? Let's hope the Thai navy will try to find the many boats carrying the refugees and save them. But I have no clue if Thai or Malaysian or any other navy are making efforts in this. It is a big news item in quite a few western countries.

BBC is reporting the Indonesian navy has already turned away 2 boatloads reaching their territorial waters.

Towed them back out to sea

[ThaiUser]

There are 8000 of them waiting to get in stuck on boats , Haven't seen it on TVF anywhere

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-32686328

I pasted the link a few hours ago in a comment 15 minutes after i read it in a Dutch news site, 15 mins later BBC had it (this link). Then CNN and German and French newssites had it. My comment with link is still "alive",. The Nation and the other paper have nothing about this huge problem.

An estimated 8000 refugees are in boats off the Thai coast. The traffickers will not dare to go ashore with them under the present crackdown. I fear there will be a big problem feeding the people after staying on sea days longer. What will the criminals do next? Kick the refugees overboard and make a run for it? Let's hope the Thai navy will try to find the many boats carrying the refugees and save them. But I have no clue if Thai or Malaysian or any other navy are making efforts in this. It is a big news item in quite a few western countries.

The problem isn’t confined to Thailand or the surrounding countries but is a global problem. By looking at UN reports and figures supplied by other organisations about 2.5 million people each year are affected by it. The ‘business’ of human trafficking is said to make an estimated $32 dollars for the people that are involved in it.

Yesterday the EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini has pleaded for UN help to dismantle criminal groups smuggling migrants into the European Union.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-32695483

The figures supplied from Europe too make a sober reading and show how deep human beings can sink when a financial profit can be achieved.

Mediterranean migrants: in numbers

In 2014:

• 219,000 people arrived in Europe

• 3,500 deaths/missing

In 2015 (1 Jan- 27 April):

• 46,000 arrivals in Europe

• More than 1,750 deaths/missing

source: UNHCR

These figures show that since the EU has started to take steps to block immigration and trafficking from African countries the numbers of people moved has decreased but the death rate compared to previous figures is on the rise.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-32686955

[Praematura]

This diverges slightly but I would say tow them back out to sea. These countries have ridiculous birth rates and then when it comes time to feed their 10 person family they look around for a place to go. They have no skills and typically have no education.

The world has a finite amount of resources and there already isn't enough to sustain 7 billion people.

Europe, USA, Australia or whomever needs to figuratively "tow them back out to sea." I know it sounds terrible but there is no one who wants them, specifically these boat people or wants to spare the resources to care for them for generations.

[jollyhangmon]

There are 8000 of them waiting to get in stuck on boats , Haven't seen it on TVF anywhere

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-32686328

Thanks 4 the link.

Hmm, just imagine if now - after what, a good fortnight of 'obstacles' - the backlog is that big already, how that business must have been buzzing undisturbed ... bet there are a lot more 'shallow graves' hidden in the foliage ...

[ThaiUser]

Come on Gen Prayut....step up to the plate on this and deal with it without fear or favour, as promised. Failure to do so or any attempt at cover up or obfuscation will lead to international condemnation, sanctions and ultimately the prospect of those responsible ending up in the International Criminal Court.

In the end, solutions will only be effective when governments show political will and leadership to end trafficking. They must develop measures that break the corruption that holds together the networks involved, from recruiters and middlemen, to police and high-level officials.

http://archive.transparency.org/news_room/in_focus/2011/breaking_the_chain_corruption_and_human_trafficking

The ICC has no juristiction over countries that have not ratified the treaties and that list includes the US, Russia, China, Indonesia, Thailand and some more. But the statement by the Transparency organisation was not a condemnation of Thailand but also written when taking a look at the US, Russia, China, Indonesia and their record on human trafficking. The view of the US held of that court (123 member states) was expressed by G.W. Bush when he said he would not permit the prosecution of US citizens charged with war crimes or crimes against humanity and that he would free them with military force if that was necessary.

[BestBitterPhuket]

he Royal Thai Police commissioner said he was ready to keep transferring police...

Stop transferring! Start sacking, arresting, charging,, jailing!

I think I they have to have an investigation first as they would elsewhere. The OP does mention this.

Suspects are ARRESTED, not transferred, unless you are a Thai policeman. Tell me which country does arrest suspects of serious crimes?

[elgordo38]

After taking money, ask them to board in the board for safe location for work. But they will never return anywhere!

Internationals community closed their eyes. Sounds like modern holocaust for money!

Today everything is about the money we are a cash crazed world. The rich are getting theirs in Spades now the poor want a turn at the trough. We will continue to be inundated by a sea of migrants. The breeding process never stops. They want a better life so they can demonstrate with impunity against their new countries shortcomings.

[elgordo38]

he Royal Thai Police commissioner said he was ready to keep transferring police...

Stop transferring! Start sacking, arresting, charging,, jailing!

Well they have given the bag man's name here now so I wonder if they will provide him with transportation to flee the country with his bag of money. Nothing like providing the guy with a warning that the Sheriff is coming and to get out of Dodge.

[fareastguy]

he Royal Thai Police commissioner said he was ready to keep transferring police...

Stop transferring! Start sacking, arresting, charging,, jailing!

Well they have given the bag man's name here now so I wonder if they will provide him with transportation to flee the country with his bag of money. Nothing like providing the guy with a warning that the Sheriff is coming and to get out of Dodge.

Bet he won't be leaving on a boat though !!

[sambum]

he Royal Thai Police commissioner said he was ready to keep transferring police...

Stop transferring! Start sacking, arresting, charging,, jailing!

I think I they have to have an investigation first as they would elsewhere. The OP does mention this.

Suspects are ARRESTED, not transferred, unless you are a Thai policeman. Tell me which country does arrest suspects of serious crimes?

Agree with your sentiments, but I think you missed the word "not" out of your second sentence i.e.should it not read " Tell me which country does NOT arrest suspects of serious crimes?"

Edited May 12, 2015 by sambum

[phuketrichard]

<script type='text/javascript'>window.mod_pagespeed_start = Number(new Date());</script>

There are 8000 of them waiting to get in stuck on boats , Haven't seen it on TVF anywhere

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-32686328

I pasted the link a few hours ago in a comment 15 minutes after i read it in a Dutch news site, 15 mins later BBC had it (this link). Then CNN and German and French newssites had it. My comment with link is still "alive",. The Nation and the other paper have nothing about this huge problem.

An estimated 8000 refugees are in boats off the Thai coast. The traffickers will not dare to go ashore with them under the present crackdown. I fear there will be a big problem feeding the people after staying on sea days longer. What will the criminals do next? Kick the refugees overboard and make a run for it? Let's hope the Thai navy will try to find the many boats carrying the refugees and save them. But I have no clue if Thai or Malaysian or any other navy are making efforts in this. It is a big news item in quite a few western countries.

BBC is reporting the Indonesian navy has already turned away 2 boatloads reaching their territorial waters.

Towed them back out to sea

isn't this what a certain Navy was doing unless they were paid??

[scorecard]

<script type='text/javascript'>window.mod_pagespeed_start = Number(new Date());</script>

Surprising that the UN is not doing more??

They are too busy with their continuous talkfests.

IMHO this subject is one of the utterly disgraceful monumental failures in terms of one of the primary reasons why the UN exists.

Edited May 12, 2015 by scorecard

[MZurf]

Same as with Libya in Europe, cure the disease not the symptoms.

If you cure the desease the symptoms go away.

The causes on the other hand...

[MZurf]

1. It goes up the ladder much higher than simply this "money man" and his politician (scumbag) brother.

2. 67 Royal Thai Police officers have been transferred ... that kind of sums it all up and tells you exactly who is involved and who's been raking in the money over the past decade or so. They've made themselves a nice little nest egg thanks to Thaksin's patronage and protection.

Interesting that you blame Thaksin. I thought it was well known that powerful politicians in the South were generally not of the red persuasion.

Everything bad that happens in Thailand can be tracked back to the T - don't you know?