76 migrants, including Rohingya, detained in Thailand after being found on Train

On Monday, Thai authorities said that 76 migrants from Myanmar, including six suspected Rohingya, have been found on one of Asia’s biggest smuggling routes despite the vow from Bangkok to stamp out trafficking.

Some 98 victims of trafficking who were suspected to be Rohingya were also discovered earlier in January. This group, which included dozens of children, were found in Southern Thailand in pick up trucks.

Since 2012, tens of thousands of Rohingya have been fleeing Myanmar after violent clashes with Buddhists from Rakhine State, which left hundreds dead. Many Rohingya refugees intend to head to Malaysia however they often are held in southern Thailand’s smuggling camps and forced to stay until ransom to traffickers can be paid by their relatives.

This latest group of migrants were discovered in Nakhon Si Thammarat province’s Tong Sung district in southern Thailand. According to Police Colonel Anuchon Chamat, they were on their way to Malaysia to look for work however were found when they failed to produce correct travel documents to authorities on the train. The migrants had boarded the train on route to Malaysia at various different locations. He added that the police were investigating to see whether the traffickers were amongst the group.

Last June, Thailand was downgraded to “Tier 3” status on the yearly Trafficking in Persons Report by the US State Department due to not complying with minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking. Currently Thailand is ranked as one of the human trafficking centres in the world.