Police closing net on gangs supplying 'slaves' to trawlers

Police closing net on gangs supplying 'slaves' to trawlers

Only 20 cases recorded in five years, but top cop insists human trafficking is a 'grave concern'

Police are fighting an uphill battle dealing with human traffickers who exploit vulnerable Thai and Myanmar workers.

Anti-human trafficking division police search a fishing trawler in an estuary in Samut Sakhon for any crew who might have been trafficked to work on the ship. WASSAYOS NGAMKHAM

Many of the workers are promised well-paid jobs, often in the fishing industry, but are instead forced to work in slave-like conditions for months on end with little or no pay.

Officers have dealt with 20 cases of workers being abused in this way since 2007. That modest figure, however, belies the large scale of human trafficking operations going on in the country.

"The problem is a matter of grave concern," anti-human trafficking division chief Chawalit Sawaengphuet said. "We believe there are many exploited labourers who choose not to complain to police when they're back ashore."

The workers targetted by human trafficking gangs are often impoverished Thai and Myanmar men. With the promise of well-paid work, they are deceived into working in squalid conditions in often poorly-maintained trawlers for weeks or months and are threatened with violence if they resist.

But for police, it's not just a matter of sitting back and waiting for the trafficking gangs to slip up. A more active approach is needed, Pol Maj Gen Chawalit said.

Officers need help from fishing industry leaders to expose the tricks used by traffickers, who disguise themselves as labour brokers, the commander said.

Some of the fishing boat owners have no idea that the so-called brokers are coercing young men into working on the boats. "They think the 'recruited' workers come willingly," he said.

Fuelling the problem is a severe labour shortage in the fishing industry. In the country's major fishing provinces such as Samut Sakhon and Ranong, many employers rush to hire whoever they can get, without bothering to run effective background checks.

Working on a fishing boat is not seen as a glamorous profession, and so is shunned by most Thais. This is contributing to the current labour crisis, Sawong Chuicharoen, president of Uan Dam fishing boat club in Samut Sakhon, said.

Pol Maj Gen Chawalit said that despite public warnings being issued informing people of the tactics used by human traffickers, the gangs remained adept at scouting potential victims.

The gangs usually recruit people who are migrating to Bangkok looking for work. They approach their targets at Hua Lamphong train station or at bus terminals, making false offers of jobs with good pay.

When people agree to the job offers, they are usually invited out for a drink and then drugged, Pol Maj Gen Chawalit said.

The unconscious victims are taken to prospective employers, who are made to believe the victims had passed out from a night of heavy drinking.

When the victims wake up, they are already out at sea in a trawler, where they will remain confined and be forced to work for weeks or months.

There is no way to escape, Pol Maj Gen Chawalit, said.

In many cases, boat captains accept new deck hands without notifying the owners of the vessel, he said.

Many Myanmar nationals who were tricked into working on the boats said they were promised a hefty income for their work. By the time the realised they had been deceived, it was too late.

When they finished a stint on one boat, some of the workers were "sold" to skippers of other finishing boats, Pol Maj Gen Chawalit said.

The trafficked workers said they received little or no money for their labour. Their pay often goes into refunding the brokerage fee that the trafficking gangs charged the skippers.

Pol Maj Gen Chawalit said police are not focused on arresting illegal labourers working aboard fishing boats. They are instead "asking for cooperation" from fishing boat operators to try to rein in human trafficking gangs.

Officers have been sent to the major fishing provinces to inform industry leaders of various methods employed by the gangs to lure in their victims.

Penalties can also be imposed on boat operators and skippers if they are found to be involved in any wrongdoing or fail to notify police of human trafficking.

Police must be alerted to any suspected cases of labour trafficking as soon as possible, Pol Maj Gen Chawalit said.

Police are working with labour officials to set up a centre to help recruit legal crew members in Thailand's seven major fishing provinces _ Trat, Rayong, Chumphon, Songkhla, Ranong, Satun and Samut Sakhon. They believe that by finding more legal workers and solving the labour shortage crisis, demand for illegal labour will diminish and the trafficking gangs will be put out of business.

The government is also talking with Vietnam and Bangladesh to help find fishermen interested in working legally on Thai boats.

Samut Sakhon fishing association chairman Kamchon Mongkhontrilak said he agreed with this approach to solving the problem.

He said there should also be a separate centre where labour officials can give advice to employers and educate them about human trafficking networks.

This should help "cut the cycle of human trade," Mr Kamchon said.


Contact Crime Track: crimetrack@bangkokpost.co.th

Do you like the content of this article?
COMMENT