NONG KHAI: Immigration police have arrested two men for alleged involvement in the trafficking of women from Laos into Thailand for the sex trade.
Pol Col Pitsanu Sitthithun, chief investigator of Immigration Police Division 4, said Somsak Buakhem, 46, and Vacharapong Ratchaburi, 21, were arrested on Friday at a house in Nong Khai's Tha Bo district.
On Sept 29, the Nong Khai Provincial Court approved a warrant for their arrest as requested by immigration police on charges of providing shelter and assistance for foreigners who had entered the country illegally and helping them to evade arrest.
Police investigators concluded the two men were involved in human trafficking. When women were illegally brought across the Mekong river into Thailand from Laos, they allegedly took them by vehicle to hideouts at designated locations in Tha Bo district.
Pol Col Pitsanu said their apprehension followed the arrest of several other people recently on charges of human smuggling.
The extended investigation was continuing, he said.
