A 39-year-old Uzbek woman accused of luring her compatriots into the flesh trade in Southeast Asian countries has been arrested in Bangkok.
Nigora Akhmedova, wanted on a red notice issued by Interpol on human trafficking charges, was apprehended at a condominium in the On Nut area on Sukhumvit Soi 77, said Pol Col Archayon Kraithong, deputy commander of the Tourist Police Division.
Uzbekistan had earlier informed Thai authorities that the suspect had fled into hiding in Thailand, he said at a media briefing at the Immigration Bureau on Saturday.
A joint investigation by the Immigration Bureau, Tourist Police and Metropolitan Police Bureau found Ms Akhmedova had entered the country three times as a tourist, most recently in April of this year.
Pol Col Archayon said the woman had colluded with two or three other Uzbek nationals to lure young women from her country into the sex trade in Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia.
While being taken for the media briefing, the suspect briefly acted as if she was about to faint. She said through an interpreter that she travelled to Thailand to buy products for sale on a website. However, authorities did not find any evidence of an online business.
The suspect was later handed over to the Immigration Bureau for legal action.