HAT YAI: A group from the US Department of Homeland Security is visiting Thailand to discuss human trafficking and other issues at the invitation of the Royal Thai Police.
The team has already visited Bangkok and Phuket and will spend more than three weeks exchanging information with police, Marine Police, Social Development and Human Security officials, the Department of Special Investigation and other government agencies.
Phuketwan met the group in Hat Yai where they shared an extended briefing session with Immigration Division 6 Commander, Police Major General Thatchai Pitaneelaboot.
The Homeland Security group spokesperson, Robert Abrams, is based at the US Embassy in Bangkok.
''The invitation came from the Royal Thai Police so what we've done is to gather two of our agents who are experts to simply share some insights,'' he said.
The series of exchanges began on August 6. Mr Abrams said that efforts by Thai authorities to dismantle transnational criminal organisations were ''very impressive.''
''Significant resources are being brought to bear,'' he said. ''We are eager to share findings with our colleagues.''
Mr Abrams said official complicity and corruption in general was a problem faced by ''just about any police force.''
''To their credit, our Thai colleagues have been honest about what they have found,'' he added.
''At least four officers were criminally implicated in some of these transnational crimes. Others have been found to be less than active and have been reassigned.
''It seems as though the Thais are actively trying to curtail . . . possible complicity and the role police corruption plays in these cases.''
He believed the solution to the human trafficking issue plaguing Thailand and the region is a ''multi-faceted, multi-agency response.''
For years stateless Rohingya have been trafficked through Thailand from Burma. The trade in people grew so large through lack of enforcement that traffickers moved into Bangladesh, luring young men onto boats with the promise of better-paid jobs in Malaysia.
Discovery of scores of graves at secret jungle trafficking camps close to the Thai-Malaysia border earlier this year led on to hundreds of Rohingya and Bangladeshis crammed onto smugglers' boats off the coast of Thailand.
Mr Abrams said he had been told that the Royal Thai Police and the Department of Special Investigation were ''going after these syndicates.''
The fact that the Rohingya were stateless added another layer of complexity, he said. ''The Thais need the cooperation of their neighbors,'' he said.
''This is not a problem that's confined to Thailand. I think it's something the Thais are taking very seriously.''
The exchange concludes at the end of the month.
The team has already visited Bangkok and Phuket and will spend more than three weeks exchanging information with police, Marine Police, Social Development and Human Security officials, the Department of Special Investigation and other government agencies.
Phuketwan met the group in Hat Yai where they shared an extended briefing session with Immigration Division 6 Commander, Police Major General Thatchai Pitaneelaboot.
The Homeland Security group spokesperson, Robert Abrams, is based at the US Embassy in Bangkok.
''The invitation came from the Royal Thai Police so what we've done is to gather two of our agents who are experts to simply share some insights,'' he said.
The series of exchanges began on August 6. Mr Abrams said that efforts by Thai authorities to dismantle transnational criminal organisations were ''very impressive.''
''Significant resources are being brought to bear,'' he said. ''We are eager to share findings with our colleagues.''
Mr Abrams said official complicity and corruption in general was a problem faced by ''just about any police force.''
''To their credit, our Thai colleagues have been honest about what they have found,'' he added.
''At least four officers were criminally implicated in some of these transnational crimes. Others have been found to be less than active and have been reassigned.
''It seems as though the Thais are actively trying to curtail . . . possible complicity and the role police corruption plays in these cases.''
He believed the solution to the human trafficking issue plaguing Thailand and the region is a ''multi-faceted, multi-agency response.''
For years stateless Rohingya have been trafficked through Thailand from Burma. The trade in people grew so large through lack of enforcement that traffickers moved into Bangladesh, luring young men onto boats with the promise of better-paid jobs in Malaysia.
Discovery of scores of graves at secret jungle trafficking camps close to the Thai-Malaysia border earlier this year led on to hundreds of Rohingya and Bangladeshis crammed onto smugglers' boats off the coast of Thailand.
Mr Abrams said he had been told that the Royal Thai Police and the Department of Special Investigation were ''going after these syndicates.''
The fact that the Rohingya were stateless added another layer of complexity, he said. ''The Thais need the cooperation of their neighbors,'' he said.
''This is not a problem that's confined to Thailand. I think it's something the Thais are taking very seriously.''
The exchange concludes at the end of the month.
It's great that Thailand is taking it seriously, but its also a shame on America who think money is more important than Human Trafficking.
With the recent TIP report allowing Malaysia to get in Tier 2, allowing Malaysia to get more "trade" from America and vice versa. Even though there had been little improvement from Malaysia.
Posted by Tbs on August 22, 2015 09:18