Speaking at the Human Trafficking Suppression Division at the government offices complex, national police chief Pol Gen Somyot Pumpunmuang said the completed report covers the smuggling of Rohingya Muslim and Bangladeshi migrants into Thailand by a human-trafficking network.
Pol Gen Aek Angsananont, the deputy police chief in charge of the investigation, said the case was complicated and the crimes occurred in many areas and involved many people. With help from the OAG and Anti-Money Laundering Office, police initially issued warrants for the arrest of 89 suspects, 56 of whom have been arrested.
Police on Monday (June 22) said a court has approved warrants for the arrest of 30 more suspects after more evidence was found, bringing the total number of suspects to 119.
Concerning Nathapat Saengthong, a suspect who was arrested in Myanmar, Pol Gen Aek said he had not yet been extradited, as he still had to undergo legal proceedings in that country.
Pol Col Sihanart Prayoonrat, the Amlo secretary-general, said his office had seized assets worth more than B100 million from some of the suspects. The assets are believed to have been acquired through people smuggling.
But rights groups, including the New York-based Human Rights Watch, said the investigation would not put an end to networks operating in the region.
"It is highly likely that if this investigation turns out to just be window dressing to defuse international pressure, then it will have no impact," Sunai Phasuk, Thailand researcher at Human Rights Watch, told Reuters.
"It will just put them under ground for the time being and then resurface again."
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