According to a police release today, four suspects in child sex trafficking have been detained in Bangkok and Samut Prakan. The police department’s Anti-Trafficking in Persons Division (ATPD) arrested the two suspects. On September 6, arrest orders from the criminal court were issued for the two.
The suspects, Noppadol Chanthong, 40, and Khachaporn Khlainakpheuk, 51, are charged with assisting in human trafficking, profiting from prostitution, and forcing or luring children under the age of 15 into sexual exploitation. Law enforcement then seized two key suspects as part of the sex trafficking ring: Warit Wattanawongchai, 41, the website administrator, and Pheeraphon Jaensapsin, 41, the website owner.
On September 14, the Criminal Court also issued arrest orders for the two individuals. According to ATPD commander Sarut Kwaengsopha, their charges include participating in human trafficking, obtaining children for prostitution, making money from the sex industry, depriving children of parental care, and other offenses.
In addition to being a honeymoon and backpacker’s paradise, Thailand is now a major transit point for migrant workers, human trafficking, and forced labor. An estimated 3.9 million migrant laborers, both officially and illegally, were residing and working in Thailand . Most of them originated in the nearby countries of Vietnam, Myanmar, Cambodia, and the Lao People’s Democratic Republic. There were 100,000 refugees and asylum seekers, while 480,000 people were considered to be stateless.
The Global Slavery Index estimates that there are roughly 610,000 victims of human trafficking in Thailand.
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