Thailand: US prosecutors urge cooperation to nab suspects in sex trafficking case

A group of transgender sex workers cluster around the entrance to a popular bar named Temptations. Pic: Caleb Quinley.

 9th October 2016

FOLLOWING the arrest of 17 members of of a global trafficking operation involving hundreds of Thai women, prosecutors in the U.S. are seeking more cooperation from the Thai government to expand their investigations.

12 Thai nationals and five Americans were charged this week with transporting the women from Thailand to the U.S. to be sold into a sex ring.

U.S. assistant attorney Laura Provinzio said during a radio broadcast on U.S. Public Radio: “We hope to work with police in Thailand to identify additional people involved in the trafficking and more of the victims.”

SEE ALSO: Thailand’s Tourism Ministry looking to put an end to sex tourism

An indictment unsealed by Andrew Luger, the U.S. attorney for Minnesota, revealed other charges including sex trafficking, forced labor, money laundering, and visa fraud, reports the Bangkok Post. The women were reportedly placed in several cities around the U.S. to work off “debt bondages” of up to US$60,000 (2 million baht).

Luger described the organization as “highly sophisticated” that promised Thai women a shot at having the “American dream” but instead forced them into modern day sex slavery.

According to CNN, the Department of Justice issued a statement that said: “Once in the United States, victims were allegedly placed in houses of prostitution, where they were forced to work long hours – often all day, every day.