Senior Thailand army officer among 72 indicted on people-trafficking charges
Lieutenant General Manas Kongpan remains the only military officer charged with complicity in people smuggling, something that has raised eyebrows among human rights groups and observers who say it is unlikely such an influential officer would have acted alone.
Thailand on Friday said it would indict 72 people including a senior army officer over human trafficking after the grim trade in migrants from Myanmar and Bangladesh rocked the Southeast Asian region.
The move comes after a major people-smuggling trade unravelled in May when thousands of migrants were abandoned at sea and in jungle camps by traffickers following a Thai crackdown, a crisis that eventually forced a Southeast Asia-wide response.
The Office of the Attorney General of Thailand on Thursday issued an order to indict 72 people charged on 16 counts mostly over human trafficking, OAG spokesman Wanchai Roujanavong said at a press conference in Bangkok.
“We will not let influential people rise above justice,” Wanchai told reporters, adding more than dozen state officials at all levels will face trial.
The charges include human trafficking, involvement in international crimes, taking and bringing illegal migrants and malfeasance.
“AOG has given priority to the issue – as it is a big group of people involving international systems – it caused a lot of damage to the country as there were dead bodies found,” Wanchai said, referencing the grisly discovery of dozens of migrant graves along the border with Malaysia that sparked the trafficking crackdown.