Cops draw up trafficking master plan

Cops draw up trafficking master plan

TIP report spurs regime into action

The Royal Thai Police has prepared a national action plan to combat human trafficking in what could be the country's most concerted effort to address the issue, a police source said.

The move comes after the National Council for Peace and Order and the government pledged to make human trafficking a top priority after Thailand was downgraded to the lowest level, or Tier 3 status, in the US Trafficking in Persons (TIP) report released last June.

According to a source who is familiar with the Immigration Police Bureau (IPB), the action plan would have the Royal Thai Police Office as the core agency in addressing human trafficking problems. Four border checkpoints would be brought into the plan, as they are identified as transit points.

The plan targets forced labour, sexual exploitation, organised begging and smuggling of Rohingya people to a third country. A police agency will supervise each area, said the source.

The IPB will be responsible for tackling forced labour and illegal migrant workers and will work closely with a border checkpoint in Tak's Mae Sot district. Most victims of forced labour and illegal migrant workers who travel to the inner provinces come through this checkpoint.

The Central Investigation Bureau (CIB) will be in charge of combating sexual exploitation and will work with a border checkpoint in Nong Khai.

The northeastern province is known as a transit point for trafficking of women from Laos for prostitution. The CIB oversees the Anti-Human Trafficking division and has expertise in this area of human trafficking.

The Metropolitan Police Bureau will take the lead in combating trafficking for organised begging and will work with a border checkpoint in Sa Kaeo's Aranyaprathet district. Many people used for organised begging in Bangkok slip through this checkpoint from Cambodia.

The Special Branch Police, as a police intelligence agency, will spearhead efforts to stem the trafficking of Rohingya asylum seekers through Thailand en route to a third country and will work with a border checkpoint in Ranong.

The source said the plan is likely to be forwarded to Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha this month. If the efforts bear fruit, Thailand could be upgraded from the lowest level in the US TIP report.

"The government has asked the Royal Thai Police Office to tackle human trafficking. It has chosen to take the lead," said the source.

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