Pol Lt Gen Tanatisak Thirasawat, comissioner of the Region 5 Provincial Police Bureau, said at a press conference in Chiang Mai that the arrests came after the police obtained information from Destint Rescue, a non-governmental organisation providing care and assistance for children and women who become victims of violence and human trafficking.
The organisation said many young women, both Myanmar nationals and locals in Mae Ai district of Chiang Mai, had been lured by members of a trafficking ring into forced prostitution in Hat Yai.
The procurers told parents of young girls that their children would allow them to get a job with high salaries, but the victims ended up being forced to have sex with Malaysian and Singaporean tourists.
Pol Lt Gen Tanatisak said the police rescued five girls under age 18. Information from them led to the arrests of Ampai Chaichana, 46, of Mae Ai district, and Chayut Kijthongpoon, 58, and Chindarat Paeng-ai, both of Hat Yai, who allegedly opened a Hat Yai karaoke bar as a front to pimp out girls before moving to open another karaoke joint in Phuket.
A warrant also was issued for a man called Ti, aged 50-55, who is believed to be still in hiding in Hat Yai, he said.
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