Thai, Malaysian cops to boost anti-trafficking drive
Thai and Malaysian police have agreed to step up joint efforts against human trafficking and other crimes affecting the security of both countries.
The agreement was reached Wednesday at the 23rd-annual meeting of Thai and Malaysian police being held May 11-14 at the Westin Siray Bay Resort and Spa Hotel in Phuket.
Today's meeting was chaired by national police chief Somyot Pumpunmuang and his Malaysian counterpart, Tan Sri Dato Sri Khalid bin Abu Bakar.
The two sides discussed joint operations and ways of combating major types of transnational crime affecting security including terrorism, drugs smuggling, human trafficking, arms smuggling, car theft, economic and computer crime, and piracy in international waters. Joint development of police personnel in the two countries also was discussed.
They signed a memorandum of understanding to increase cooperation between police forces on crime prevention and suppression.
Pol Gen Somyot also hosted a ceremony to hand over 25 cars that had been smuggled from Malaysia to Thailand.
In his speech, Pol Gen Somyot stressed that the Thai government attaches much importance to combating illegal use of labour and human trafficking, leading to the revelation of camps used to detain Bangladeshi and Rohingya Muslim migrants in Songkhla province and nearby provinces.
He said Thailand alone cannot solve the people-smuggling problem, as the country is primarily a transit point. Cooperation from Myanmar, a country of origin, and destination countries like Malaysia and Indonesia is needed, he added.
Pol Gen Somyot said he had asked Malaysia to repatriate to Thailand some of the human-trafficking suspects believed to have fled to Malaysia. Pol Gen Chakthip Chaichinda, a deputy police chief, would coordinate with Malaysia, he said.
The Malaysian police chief, in his speech, said Malaysia, like Thailand, has attached much importance to suppression of human trafficking.
He said that from April through May, Malaysia arrested seven groups of suspected traffickers: 21 Myanmar, 16 Malaysian and one Indonesian. Among them were two Malaysian police officers.
The Malaysian police chief said that on May 10 Malaysian authorities detained 1,018 illegal migrants -- 555 from Bangladesh and 463 from Myanmar -- on Langkawi and seized two boats.
It was believed the migrants had fled from the Thai border after authorities stepped up pressure against human trafficking, he said.
Comments