VZCZCXRO8039
PP RUEHCN RUEHDT RUEHHM
DE RUEHCHI #0042 0831126
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P R 241126Z MAR 09
FM AMCONSUL CHIANG MAI
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 1004
INFO RUEHZS/ASSOCIATION OF SOUTHEAST ASIAN NATIONS
RUEHGO/AMEMBASSY RANGOON 0037
RUEHCN/AMCONSUL CHENGDU 0074
RUEHCHI/AMCONSUL CHIANG MAI 1086

UNCLAS CHIANG MAI 000042 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR G/TIP 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: KTIP SMIG KWMN KJUS PHUM PGOV PREL TH BM CH
SUBJECT: RAIDS NET FIVE SUSPECTED HUMAN TRAFFICKERS; TWO VICTIMS 
RECEIVING ASSISTANCE 
 
REF: 08 Chiang Mai 126 (Putting the TIP Law to its First Test) 
 
Sensitive but unclassified; please handle accordingly. 
 
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Summary and Comment 
------------------------------------ 
 
¶1.  (SBU) Coordinated raids at two Chiang Mai karaoke bars on 
February 18 led to the arrest of five suspected traffickers and 
the rescue of two victims -- minors who were allegedly forced 
into prostitution.  The suspects remain in custody while the 
police collect evidence and assemble witnesses.  The two 
victims, both of whom are Chinese nationals, are at a Thai 
Government shelter in Bangkok.  If convicted, the suspects could 
face both lengthy prison terms and hefty fines.  Coordinated 
raids like this one and the one reported in Reftel demonstrate 
that local and provincial authorities can successfully work with 
the central Thai Government to prosecute traffickers and protect 
victims, despite endemic police corruption.  End Summary and 
Comment. 
 
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A Stroke of Luck Leads to Raids and Arrests 
--------------------------------------------- -------------------- 
 
¶2.  (SBU) According to press reports, the two victims in this 
case escaped from the Chiang Mai karaoke bar in which they had 
been forced to work as prostitutes on February 14, and made 
contact with the Thai Tourist Police.  The police gave them 
temporary protection, and during preliminary questioning, 
determined that they were 17 and 18 years old.  By February 18, 
the police had collected sufficient evidence and secured arrest 
warrants for the five traffickers involved -- the two Chinese 
nationals who brought the victims from Kunming, China to 
Thailand, and the three Thai owners of the karaoke bars in which 
the girls were sexually exploited.  Contacts at TRAFCORD, which 
serves as a coordination body between the Royal Thai Government 
(RTG) and provincial/local authorities, told us that all five 
traffickers were apprehended (two at their residence in Chiang 
Mai, and the other three at their respective karaoke 
establishments) on February 18, and that searches of the two 
bars did not turn up additional victims.  The operation was 
jointly carried out by TRAFCORD, the Chiang Mai Tourist Police, 
Chiang Mai's Provincial Center to Prevent and Suppress 
Trafficking, and the Royal Thai Police's Children, Juvenile, and 
Women Division (CWD), a special unit that deals with crimes 
against children and women. 
 
--------------------------------------------- ------------ 
The Protection and Prosecution Angles 
--------------------------------------------- ------------ 
 
¶3.  (SBU) According to TRAFCORD, both victims are currently 
residing at an RTG shelter in Bangkok awaiting interrogation in 
preparation for the trials of the five trafficking suspects. 
Meanwhile, Thai authorities are working with TRAFCORD to locate 
the victim's families in Kunming, and determine the suitability 
of the situation there for their possible repatriation to China. 
 As for the traffickers, all face charges under Thailand's 2008 
TIP law and criminal code, and could be imprisoned for life if 
convicted on all counts under both statutes for trafficking and 
procuring sex for minors.  They also face maximum fines of 
$4,570 each.  Currently, their cases remain under investigation 
with the CWD. 
 
--------------------------------------------- ----------------- 
Coerced from China to Thailand Via Burma 
--------------------------------------------- ----------------- 
 
¶4.  (SBU) According to the victims' statements, the ordeal 
leading to their escape was long and painful.  It began in 
February 2008 when they were 16 and 17 years old.  They were 
coerced by two Chinese nationals with whom they were 
well-acquainted to accompany them to the Thai-Burma border town 
of Tachilek, where the would-be traffickers were to receive some 
$28,500 from an unidentified man.  From there, they were taken 
to Chiang Mai and sold into prostitution.  After eight months 
apart, the two victims were reunited and forced to work as 
prostitutes at one karaoke bar, where they remained until their 
February 2009 escape. 
 
¶5.  (U) This cable was coordinated with Embassy Bangkok. 
 
MORROW