Thai authorities yesterday questioned more than 100 migrants discovered in the nation’s south to determine whether they were victims of human trafficking, as Thailand races to meet a deadline to uncover people smuggling camps within its borders.
Thirty-three bodies, believed to be migrants from Myanmar and Bangladesh, have been found in shallow graves over the past week in Songkhla Province. Three suspected trafficking camps were also found.
Thai Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha announced a 10-day deadline to crack down on the illicit trade. On Friday, Prayuth called for a three-way meeting with Malaysia and Myanmar to try to resolve a regional human trafficking crisis following the discoveries.
The 117 migrants were found in Rattaphum District, Songkhla Province, near the Malaysian border, Songkhla Province Deputy Governor Ekarat Sisen said.
Most of the group were from Bangladesh.
“There are 117 people here, 26 of them are Rohingya Muslims from Myanmar and the rest are from Bangladesh,” Sisen said.
“We need to figure out if any these people are trafficking victims or whether they entered country on their own. If they are victims of human trafficking we must hand them over to Ministry of Social Development and Human Security. Those who voluntarily entered the country illegally will be sent to the immigration police and eventually sent back to their country of origin,” Sisen added.
Thai police on Friday said that 111 migrants were found.
Thirteen-year-old Busri Salam, from Bangladesh, said his group disembarked a boat in Thailand and trekked for two weeks in the Thai jungle to reach Malaysia.
“My brother is in Malaysia,” Busri said. “I wanted to go there.”
About 25,000 Rohingya Muslims and Bangladeshis boarded people-smugglers’ boats in the first three months of the year, double the number a year earlier, the UN refugee agency UNHCR said on Friday.
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