Dozens of Lao girls have fallen prey to a gang in Songkhla's tourist district
Young Lao women and girls seeking a better life in Thailand are at risk of being lured into the flesh trade by human trafficking gangs, a senior police officer has warned.
The Anti-Human Trafficking Division has been closely monitoring one gang following the arrest of two Thai women accused of conning girls into the prostitution business and illegally detaining them.
Prasert: Some are lucky to escape
Benjawan Chaiprew, 32, and Pranom Kottirak , 47, both natives of Kalasin, were arrested on Sept 20 following a complaint filed by a woman, who asked not to be named, that her 14-year-old daughter had been lured into the sex trade by Ms Benjawan and Ms Pranom, who were their neighbours.
The two women had persuaded her daughter to work as a waitress at a restaurant in Songkhla's Sadao district, which is a popular tourist spot.
When her daughter arrived there, she said she was forced to provide sexual service to clients. The girl said she managed to flee the brothel _ for which the restaurant was a front _ after being held there for five months.
After arresting the two women, a team of police from the Anti-Human Trafficking Division expanded its investigation and found at least 50 Lao girls had allegedly been victimised by the gang.
When the girls arrived in Sadao district, they were reportedly taken to a restaurant run by a Singaporean man and his Thai wife to earn their keep.
Another woman, identified as Yupin Chaipaew, allegedly worked with Ms Benjawan and Ms Pranom to procure girls for the brothel.
Police secured warrants for the arrest of the three women. Ms Yupin is still at large.
Ms Benjawan and Ms Pranom denied any involvement in human trafficking, but police believe they have obtained evidence to implicate them and other suspects in the gang. "The gang works systematically to lure women and girls, into the sex trade. They particularly target Lao women. It is human trafficking and it goes against the law and against humanity," said Pol Col Prasert Pattanadee, deputy commander of the division.
Members of the gang normally looked for victims in remote villages. They try to get close to the families of their targets to gain their trust, Pol Col Prasert said.
The gang would offer to find well-paying jobs at a restaurant for the girls and would then pay a cash advance to the families before taking away their daughters.
If the victims were Thais, the gang would normally take them to Bangkok first to join other girls before a vehicle took them to Sadao.
If the victims were Lao, they would be sent to a halfway house in Nong Khai province before being transported to the same destination in Sadao. Some of the Lao girls who fell prey to the gang had entered the country legally, Pol Col Prasert said.
Most of the Lao victims are aged between 14 and 18 years old.
"The underaged girls are forced to provide sex to male customers for a salary of 2,500 baht a night. Some of them were lucky enough to escape, but others ended up being sex slaves for a long time," said the deputy chief of the Anti-Human Trafficking Division.
His agency is gathering additional evidence to arrest others members of the human trafficking network.
He has also received many complaints about brothels with Lao workers in Nong Khai, Udon Thani, Khon Kaen, Nakhon Pathom and Samut Sakhon.
Pol Col Prasert warned families to be wary of anyone who tried to persuade their daughters to work with them.
