Investigators on Tuesday discovered a second remote jungle gravesite believed to contain the remains of trafficked migrants as police arrested the chief of the village near the first set of mass graves discovered Friday.
Yali Khrem, headman for Taloh's Moo 8 village in the Songkhla town of Padang Besar turned himself in to police today, bringing to five the number of local politicians and foreign nationals arrested over the discovery of more than two dozen bodies Friday in the hidden Sadao district trafficker camp.
Arsan Intanu, a member of tambon Padang Besar municipal council, Ro-ae Sonyale and Ali Lamoh, both assistant village chiefs in Padang Besar and a Myanmar national identified as Soe Naing Anwar were arrested Monday.
Pol Lt Gen Prawut Thawornsiri, spokesman for the Royal Thai Police Office said police have initially pressed charges of human trafficking, illegal detention, and kidnapping for ransom against the suspects.
Three others are still at large: Prasit Lemleh, deputy chief of Padang Besar municipality, Chaoren Thongdaeng and Pakapol Benlatae.
The latest arrest came as investigators scoured the jungle-covered Khao Kaew mountain for other camps and migrant-detention sites.
A second camp was uncovered just a kilometre from Friday's discovery. Pol Lt Gen Prawut said it was found last night 25 kilometres west of Padang Besar.
"We also found five graves, but cannot yet confirm whether any bodies are in them. Authorities will look into this," he added.
Rights groups have long accused the Thai authorities of turning a blind eye to -- and even being complicit in -- human trafficking. This week's arrest lend credence to those allegations.
Pol Lt Gen Prawut said five officials from Padang Besar have been arrested on human trafficking charges since the first camp was discovered. He said authorities are checking if the two local officials still on the run have fled the country.
Local police also have been hit by the scandal. A separate police statement issued Tuesday said 15 law-enforcement officers in southern Thailand have been transferred from their positions, including a senior officer in Padang Besar and another in Satun province.
