Officers bust underage prostitution ring organised on Facebook
A complaint by the mother of a 14-year-old girl who was lured into prostitution in Nakhon Ratchasima’s Muang district led to an operation by the Anti-Human Trafficking Division (AHTD) on Saturday to rescue the girl and three other underage girls, AHTD chief Pol Maj-General Kornchai Klayklueng told a press conference in Bangkok on Tuesday.
The 34-year-old mother, whose name was withheld, filed a complaint with the Pathum Thani-based Pavena Foundation for Women and Children on May 17, saying that her teenage daughter had ran away from home after being invited by a Facebook friend referred to as “Amara Bee” to enter the sex trade in Nakhon Ratchasima.
Kornchai sent officers to investigate and they found that the runway girl had been staying at a hotel with five friends aged between 14 and 16.
Undercover officers contacted the Facebook user – who turned out to be a 15-year-old girl seeking commissions by finding girls to enter the sex trade – by phone and Line asking to buy sex. The officers then were sent pictures of teenagers including the 14-year-old runaway.
Officers asked for the procurer to bring two 16-year-old girls to another hotel room on Saturday, promising to pay Bt1,200 for each girl.
When they showed up and the deal was agreed upon, police arrested the procurer and sent the two prostitutes to the Ban Nareesawat shelter while another team picked up the other girls in the hotel.