DSI arrests Myanmar woman on human trafficking and forced labour charges
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The Department of Special Investigation (DSI) has arrested a woman from Myanmar suspected of being involved in cases of human trafficking and forced labour in Kanchanaburi province.
Teth Teth Win was arrested on May 30 by a DSI team of investigators, led by Pol Major Jatuporn Arunroektawin, head of DSI Human Trafficking Suppression Division 2.
According to investigators, Teth Teth Win and her daughter Win Tanda Aong had illegally smuggled at least 15 people from Myanmar and forced them to work at a corn factory located in Tha Ma Kha district of Kanchanaburi province.
Jatuporn said his team had arrested Teth Teth Win and rescued six women from Myanmar who had been detained and tortured while they were staying at a camp for workers located near the factory. They had never received any wages despite being forced to pay between Bt15,000 and Bt20,000 to Teth Teth Win and her daughter for entering Thailand through Mae Sot and travelling to Kanchanaburi.
The DSI’s investigation comes after the Myanmar Police Agency and United Nations Inter-Agency Project on Human Trafficking (UNIAP) asked the department for assistance in tracking Myanmar workers who were illegal smuggled into Thailand. The two agencies also requested the DSI take legal action against Teth Teth Win and Win Tanda Aong, who was later arrested by the Myanmar Police Agency.
Previously, a team of DSI investigators rescued eight women from Myanmar who had been detained at the same camp in Tha Ma Kha. Interviews with the eight women revealed enough evidence for the DSI to request an arrest warrant for Teth Teth Win.
All those rescued have been sent to a safe house.
Teth Teth Win admitted that she had been involved in smuggling people from Myanmar, but said she did not know that it violated any human trafficking laws.
In a related development, another team of DSI investigators rescued 36 women who were illegally smuggled from Laos and forced to work as sex workers at a karaoke restaurant in the Khaeng Khoi district of Saraburi province.
The majority of them, aged between 17-year-old to 20-year-old, were smuggled across borders in Ubonratchatani and Nong Khai provinces. They were paid only a small percentage of the money they earned for having sex with customers, while the restaurant owner pocketed the rest.
DSI investigators are now collecting evidence to charge the restaurant owner, who is also thought to be connected with local gangs involved in human trafficking.
All the rescued victims will be sent back to their country of origin.
