General Manas Kongpan and 71 other suspects have been charged with human trafficking. The case is linked to the discovery in May of 32 bodies in the jungle in southern Thailand, near the border with Malaysia.
The victims were mostly Rohingya Muslims, who are persecuted in their own country Myanmar, formerly Burma. They were housed in camps in the jungle by human traffickers. The refugees were held there until a ransom was paid for them.
The Rohingyas have probably succumbed to their ill-treatment. Many more graves with human remains were later found in the same region.
Soon after the bodies were found, the first people were arrested in Thailand, including senior officials who knew about the camps. The Public Prosecution Service in Bangkok wants a total of 91 Thai, nine suspects from Myanmar and four from Bangladesh to stand trial, but not all charges have been finalized yet. This concerns human trafficking, participation in a cross-border crime network and the smuggling of foreign nationals into Thailand.
General Manas Kongpan would have played an important role in the smuggling network, writes the Singaporean newspaper Straits Times. His involvement embarrasses Thailand's top military ruler, Prayut Chan-o-cha, who promised to end fraud and corruption in Thailand when he took office. Prayut himself gave his approval to the general's promotion some time ago.
According to the police, the human trafficking network has now been dismantled, but human rights groups also question that. They wait for the end of the monsoon to see if smuggling resumes, possibly via new routes.
Source: NOS