Police arrested a karaoke bar owner in Muang district of Songkhla province for allegedly luring 122 Thai men into forced labour on fishing boats in Indonesian waters.
Pol Col Kornchai Khlaikhlueng, acting commander of the Anti-Human Trafficking Division, said on Tuesday that police apprehended Surat Saengsri, 46, at his Ruan Rak bar on Songkhla Plaza Road in Bo Yang sub-district on Monday.
He faces charges including human trafficking, conspiracy and assisting in smuggling trafficked victims in and out of the country. The arrest came after complaints from his alleged victims after they returned from Indonesia in July.
They told authorities that they had been forced to work and were assaulted on fishing boats after being tricked by Mr Surat, the acting commander said.
The suspect was accused of promising to give legal and well-paid jobs on fishing boats in Indonesia. He allegedly welcomed the victims at his karaoke joint, arranged for accommodations during their trips and handed out advance wages to the men.
However, the victims claimed, Mr Surat took out agent fees and expenses giving the fishermen a fraction of what they had expected.
After receiving the advances, the victims allegedly were transported on cargo ships and then forced into working on fishing boats without receiving any further salary.
A year-long investigation by The Associated Press revealed that Thai boats were fishing illegally in Indonesian waters with largely slave labour, with fishermen kept at sea for months at a time and sometimes held in a cage when the boats docked at a remote island.
Pol Col Kornchai said Mr Surat denied the accusations and claimed that the victims only visited his shop as clients and received salary advances from four employers for whom he acted as a employment co-ordinator.
The acting commander, however, said police had evidence that Mr Surat had filed fishing-related documents and had financial transactions with three other suspects who remain at large.
