The co-owner of a Thai fishing trawler allegedly involved in human trafficking in Indonesian waters turned himself in at the Department of Special Investigation (DSI) Thursday.
Satien Ngernanek, the owner of the Mahachai Navy 24 trawler, surrendered to the DSI but denied any involvement with forced labour on fishing boats near Ambon and Benjina islands in Indonesia, a DSI source said.
He is now being detained pending further investigations. The arrest of Mr Satien is the first involving the owner of a Thai trawler who is suspected of being involved in human trafficking.
In late March, the Associated Press reported on the network and the links of Thai fishing trawlers which use forced labour to companies in the supply chain which send their catches to Thai Union Manufacturing Co, a subsidiary of Thai Union Frozen Products Pcl, Thailand's largest seafood corporation.
The current DSI probe also comes after the Labour Rights Promotion Network Foundation, a Thai non-governmental organisation, worked with the Thai government to rescue Thai fishermen from trawlers in Indonesia.
The DSI has issued warrants for Mr Satien and the captain of Mahachai Navy 24 for allegedly luring four Thai workers to work on fishing boats in Indonesia in October last year.
The DSI and the Office of the Attorney-General later launched the investigation into forced labour on fishing boats in Indonesia as Thai workers who returned to the country petitioned the DSI to crack down on the human trafficking networks.
The Mahachai Navy 24 is one of two Thai vessels which supplies fish to the Silver Sea Line fishing vessel. Officials are investigating if Silver Sea Line's owner has human trafficking links.
Prachak Prasertsri and Panya Luangsomboon, other co-owners of Mahachai Navy 24, have denied any wrongdoing or connection with human trafficking.
Previously, another four arrest warrants were issued by the DSI. Three suspects were apprehended while another remains at large.
In their report in March, AP said it interviewed slaves from a dozen fishing vessels offloading their catch into Silver Sea Line. The ship belongs to Silver Sea Reefer Co, which is registered in Thailand and has at least nine refrigerated cargo boats. The company said it is not involved with the fishermen.
"We only carry the shipments and are hired in general by clients," said company owner Panya Luangsomboon. "We're separate from the fishing boats."
AP followed that ship, using satellite tracking over 15 days to Samut Sakhon, and journalists watched as workers packed the seafood over four nights onto more than 150 trucks, followed by deliveries to factories around the city.
Inside those plants, representatives told AP journalists they sold seafood to other Thai processors and distributors. US Customs bills of lading identify specific shipments from those plants to American firms, including well-known brand names.