Thai Police in Tak Rescue Three Bound Chinese Men: Four Thai Men Arrested Over Suspected Trafficking to Myanmar Scam Compounds
Police in Tak Province, western Thailand, intercepted a suspicious vehicle near the Mae Tho checkpoint in the early hours of October 29, rescuing three Chinese men and arresting four Thai men in the vehicle. Police said they suspect the men intended to move the three across the Thai-Myanmar border to telecom and online scam compounds on the Myanmar side.
According to Thai media reports on October 29, the incident began at about 1 a.m. local time near the Mae Tho checkpoint in Mueang Tak District. Officers signalled a grey Toyota to stop, but the driver sped away, and police pursued and stopped the vehicle near Lan Sang village.
Inside, officers found the three Chinese men blindfolded, handcuffed and tied with rope. Police also seized two pairs of handcuffs, two rolls of yellow tape, nylon rope and two stun devices. The four Thai men in the vehicle, aged 18 to 33, were detained.
Police said the three Chinese men held passports and had entered Thailand legally, and told officers they had been coerced and threatened. An initial investigation found that they had arrived in Thailand on separate flights from China, travelled to Tak and changed vehicles there, and were to be taken to the Mae Sot border crossing and onward to scam compounds in Myanmar. Investigators believe a Chinese-run gang based in Myanmar lured them, and has used similar methods on other foreign nationals.
Thawatchai Pitaneelabut, deputy commissioner-general of the Royal Thai Police and head of its anti-trafficking centre, visited the area on October 30 and ordered an expanded investigation. Police from Region 6, immigration and forensic units are working to identify those behind the operation and map the gang's structure. The case remains under investigation, and no finding of guilt has been made against the four arrested men.
Source: GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图：泰国达府湄索一带的泰缅友谊桥（资料图）。Mikhail Esteves 摄，CC BY 2.0，经 Wikimedia Commons。 / The Thai-Myanmar Friendship Bridge at Mae Sot, Tak Province, Thailand (file photo). Photo by Mikhail Esteves, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
