A case involving the trafficking of 4 children had occurred in Thonthong quarter, Mae Sot on March 1, 2014. A 3 years old girl and 3 boys between 12 and 13 years olds, who were the victims, were saved after making arrest of the perpetrators. It was because the parents of the victims had reported to Thonthong public safety office that had successfully saved the victims by arresting 3 perpetrators at the midnight on March 2.
Among the 3 perpetrators living on the middle island under the friendship bridge, as the homeless people, the presumable leader, a 17 years old male, was a drug addict, and he had involved in many criminal activities including trafficking children at 1500 baht per head.
A member of Thonthong public safety office said, “I think they have been in this business for some time because they are smart enough to bring these kids to Mae Sot- Myawaddy river bank. They have many other connections to transport the kids by car. Luckily, we could manage to save them overnight by making arrest to the traffickers. We had handed over 3 perpetrators to police for further action too. We found 2 Karen kids along with our children there. They are being persuaded and forced to beg on the streets. Now, we took them from there and let them stay at our office.” According to Thonthong public safety office, it would hand over these Karen children, a 6 years old boy and a 13 years old boy to Social Action for Women (SAW) organization that has the experience to take care of the children who were being trafficked.
