The Anti-Money Laundering Office (Amlo) has confiscated assets worth 463 million baht from 11 individuals allegedly involved in human trafficking and procuring women for prostitution at the Victoria's Secret massage parlour.
Amlo deputy secretary-general, Romsit Weeriyasan, said the agency's transaction committee on Tuesday agreed to freeze and confiscate a total of 45 assets from the suspects.
Among them are 28 bank accounts, nine mutual funds and eight pieces of real estate.
The 11 suspects include Kampol Wirathepsuporn, the massage parlour owner and his wife, Nipa.
The case made headlines on Jan 12 when the Department of Special Investigation (DSI) raided the massage parlour in Bangkok's Rama IX area.
Some 80 women believed to have been forced into prostitution were rescued. Among them were several illegals, some of whom were underage girls from Myanmar. The case allegedly involves a human trafficking network with tentacles stretching across Myanmar, Malaysia and Thailand.
A probe also found a 12-year-old Myanmar girl was forced into the flesh trade at the parlour in July 2014 before she was sent to work as a prostitute in Malaysia.
During the raid, the DSI also arrested Boonsap Amornratanasiri, aka "Pa Kob", the massage parlour's director, and six others in connection with human trafficking.
The DSI submitted the final part of its investigation report on alleged human trafficking at the parlour to prosecutors on April 2. The 17,000-page report, contained in 72 files, was sent to the Office of the Attorney-General's Department of Trafficking in Persons Litigation.
The investigation so far has led to the indictment of more than 45 suspects.
In a separate case, Pol Maj Gen Romsit said Amlo also agreed to confiscate 9.5 million baht from three foreign nationals who allegedly tried to smuggle foreign currency into the country in breach of the Anti-Money Laundering Act.
The trio were identified as Masato Kikushi, Lopsang Sodah and Msafiri Justin.
Meanwhile, the Royal Thai Police is drawing up the country's first anti-human trafficking manual to standardise legal procedures against the crime.
Assistant police chief, Thammasak Wicharaya, said the manual would be jointly developed by the RTP and the Australia-Asia Programme to Combat Trafficking in Persons (AAPTIP), the Asia-based agency campaigning against human trafficking supported by the Australian government.
All measures and regulations in the manual would be adjusted in accordance with those implemented in the United Kingdom and Australia.
The manual would complement Thailand's master plan to eradicate human trafficking.
The manual would help enhance police investigations into human trafficking and help boost cooperation with prosecutors, resulting in more efficient legal action against human traffickers, said Matric Reeve, an adviser to the AAPTIP.
Thailand is currently on the US State Department's trafficking in persons Tier 2 Watchlist.