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Nosima, 20, believed to be the woman bought with four boys in a ''sting''

Immigration Police Nab Five Trafficked Rohingya in Price 'Sting'

Thursday, July 25, 2013
PHUKET: Immigration officers have apprehended a fleeing Rohingya woman and four boys after agreeing to pay money to human traffickers for them in a ''sting'' operation.

It's believed the officers hope evidence from the Rohingya group will lead them to traffickers operating north of Phuket and any renegade law enforcement officers who might have been helping them.

After a dramatic afternoon of price negotiations, the traffickers in the province of Surat Thani put the woman and the boys, all aged 15 or under, on the 8.40pm train for Bangkok on Wednesday night.

The price: 10,000 baht for the lot. It was to be 5000 baht but by creating a competition between the ''sting'' buyer in Bangkok and a second would-be buyer in Malaysia, the Surat Thani trafficker boosted her reward.

The group were among 18 Rohingya women and children who escaped from the government-run family shelter in Khao Lak, north of Phuket, at 2am on Sunday.

Twelve people from that group have since been trafficked across the border into Malaysia, Phuketwan confirmed tonight in a telephone conversation with one of the 12.

The fate of the other six, with no family able to raise cash on their behalf, was to be determined by the trafficker, who kept them in a safe house in Surat Thani.

One of the boys - the oldest is 15 - escaped and his whereabout is not known.

Working with members of the Rohingya community in Thailand, the Superintendent of Phang Nga Immigration, Colonel Neti Kanboon, hatched the plan to get back at least some of the Rohingya.

Late on Wednesday night, the plan succeeded and Immigration officials working with railway police apprehended the Rohingya from Row 57 and took them to Ranong, a port on the Thai-Burma border, for questioning.

Immigration officers should soon have first-hand accounts of how the trafficking network works in Thailand.

The would-be buyer in Malaysia told the trafficker in Surat Thani that he intended to sell the boys to contacts in the Malaysian fishing industry.

Scores of women and children have been enticed from family shelters by traffickers since January, when about 2000 Rohingya were freed from Thai-Malaysia border trafficking camps or apprehended on boats.

The Thai Government gave itself six months to make a decision on the status and future of the captive Rohingya. The deadline is up on Friday.

Since January, news reports have accused renegade officers in the police force and among the military of being involved in the trafficking. Senior officers in the military have consistently denied any conection.

Comments

Comments have been disabled for this article.

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Thanks a lot for this successful rescue operation . This's also a credit of Phuketwan news.
We do hope the positive step from the Thai government regarding the fate of Rohingyas detainees on Friday .iWe also aspect that the Rohingya detainees case will be ended international standard.
The traffickers are waiting to hunt the Rohingya detainees.
The culprits must be booked for heavy punishment.

Posted by Maung Kyaw Nu,President,Burmese Rohingya Association in Thailand (BRAT) on July 25, 2013 03:24

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I think as optimistic as you can be in relation to this deadline - if it hasnt been made by now they hardly are waiting till the last day to do so. I suspect the deadline will come and go and a newone will be set. Which in my mind is a disgrace as people are living in horrendous conditions in Pnang Nga.

Its time the Thai govrment stopped sitting on the fence and acknowledge this terrible situation and resolve it quickly. It shouldn't take 6 months to resolve anything. These are human beings they are talking about.

Thailand needs to grow up on this issue and treat these fellow human beings who have done nothing wrong with care, consideration and dignity.

Posted by Ciaran on July 25, 2013 09:52

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Why hasn't my comment been printed? Censorship is a sign of dictatorship.

Posted by Fiesty Farang on July 25, 2013 21:56

Editor Comment:

Say something you haven't said before. That would be a sign you are not regressing.


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