Two men said to be leading members of a transnational human trafficking syndicate involved in a Rohingya smuggling case in 2019 have been extradited to Thailand from South Korea
Nikom Numprom was arrested in June in Naju City in Jeollanam-do province, said Pol Maj Nagorn Promma, the Thai police liaison to South Korea. Tanawat Chokamlang was arrested this month in Incheon City and sent to Thailand last week.
Pol Maj Nagorn said both men were wanted on arrest warrants issued by the Nakhon Pathom Provincial Court in 2019. An Interpol Red Notice for human trafficking was issued on May 22 this year.
According to Pol Maj Nagorn, an unspecified number of Rohingya victims, ranging from children to adults, were smuggled into Thailand from Myanmar in 2019 to be sold off to a bigger syndicate based in Malaysia. Mr Nikom and Mr Tanawat were accused of leading the operation.
Thai police managed to halt the operation at the border and rescue the victims. Both fugitives then fled to South Korea.
Another accused people smuggler (fourth from left) is extradited from South Korea. (Photo supplied/Wassayos Namkham)
Thai police subsequently cooperated and exchanged data with Korean authorities, including the Interpol National Central Bureau in Seoul. South Korean authorities were able to arrest Mr Nikom and Mr Tanawat a month after the operation started, said Pol Maj Nagorn.
The apprehension of the suspects is considered part of the effort to enhance Thailand’s reputation for combatting human trafficking, he said, with the hope of upgrading the country from Tier 2 to Tier 1 in the US government’s Trafficking in Persons Report in the future.