THAI OFFICIALS ARRESTED IN ROHINGYA MASS GRAVE PROBE

Bangkok, 15 Rajab 1436/4 May 2015 (MINA) – Three Thai officials were arrested Monday as Thailand began to reign in those suspected of involvement in the trafficking of Muslim Rohingya in its south.

The arrest was the first in a raft of measures promised by the ruling junta, following the discovery of a mass grave containing the bodies of 26 Rohingya and Bangladeshi, including three women, near a human trafficking camp in southern Songkhla on Friday, Anadolu Agency quoted by Mi’raj Islamic News Agency (MINA) as reporting.

The Bangkok Post reported Monday that police General Somyot Punpanmuang had announced the arrest just before boarding a plane to Songkhla – one of the many Thai police and top-level military officers rushing to the area following Friday’s discovery.

“A sub-district councilor of Sadao district in Songkhla province has been arrested” under the suspicion of involvement in the smuggling, Punpanmuang said.

Two deputy village chiefs are also reported to have been detained.

Thailand is under immense pressure to clamp down on such smuggling after the country was downgraded to the lowest level in a U.S. State Department Trafficking in Persons report in June last year.

Deputy-government spokesman Colonel Sansern Kaewkamnerd said Sunday that Premier Prayuth Chan-ocha has stated that anyone proved to be involved in trafficking would be punished.

“If they are state officials, they will get severe penalties, both criminal and disciplinary,” Kaewkamnerd said. (T/P001/R03)

Mi’raj Islamic News Agency (MINA)