KUNMING, China - Thai police are joining hands with their Chinese counterparts to tackle human trafficking and call centre scams in China.
Pol Maj Gen Sarut Kwaengsopha, the chief of the Anti-Trafficking in Persons Division (ATPD), provided an update on cooperation during a visit on Saturday to Kunming in the southwestern province of Yunnan. While there he met with Pol Maj Gen Kong Yiping, deputy chief of the Kunming Immigration Office, and observed the performance of immigration police there.
Technology has eased the workload by about 80%, Pol Maj Gen Sarut said.
Pol Lt Gen Jirabhop Bhuridej, commissioner of the Central Investigation Bureau, has ordered law enforcement agents in the country to crack down more vigorously on call centre scams.
He has also ordered the ATPD to discuss the challenges posed by human trafficking in northern Myanmar with state agencies. The neighbouring country serves as a base for some call centre gangs that cause problems for both Thailand and China, he said.
Pol Maj Gen Sarut met with Pol Col Thatchaphong Sarawanangkun, the Thai consul-general in Kunming, to discuss the human trafficking issue.
China does not have a specific human trafficking law, said Pol Maj Gen Sarut. However, the Thai consulate in Kunming has been monitoring the activities of scam gangs. It has also been tracking 27 human trafficking suspects who fled from Thailand to China, he said.
Chinese authorities have also agreed to cooperate to combat prostitution and child labour, added Pol Maj Gen Sarut. Several Thai teenagers are reported to have been found working illegally in Kunming, which concerns officials from both countries.
“The exploitation of young Thai girls is a concern as elderly Chinese tend to hire them for marriage and later abandon them,” he said. “So, the issue must be urgently addressed and wrongdoers arrested.”
Pol Maj Gen Sarut also met with You Xiaowen, acting secretary-general of the Lancang-Mekong Integrated Law Enforcement and Security Cooperation Centre, and Jiang Shui, the centre’s deputy director-general.
The meeting highlighted the cooperation between China, Laos, Cambodia, Myanmar, Vietnam and Thailand in tackling transnational crime in the Mekong region.
The LMLECC has compiled a large online database, which member countries can use to access records on drug trafficking, call centre scam gangs, arms smuggling and human trafficking.
Mr Jiang said the centre had also beefed up joint patrols along borders and enhanced safety measures with modern equipment.