Woman arrested on charges of trafficking to UAE, one of six suspects

Police in Chachoengsao, a province east of Bangkok, arrested a woman suspected of tricking another woman into working as a prostitute in the United Arab Emirates. She is one of six suspects in the case. The alleged victim told authorities she was invited to work as a masseuse at a spa in Dubai. The woman who invited her was called ‘Ms. Lilly’, and promised her a 40,000 baht monthly salary. After she flew to Dubai in September, Ms. Lilly confiscated her passport and ordered her to give clients sexual services.

The Department of Special Investigation said when the alleged victim wanted to leave, she was told she would have to pay 70,000 baht for expenses. The woman arrested in Chachoengsao is Thai, while the other suspects are both Thai and foreign. Another was arrested in November, and the DSI director-general told the Bangkok Post authorities were intensifying their search for the other four.

The woman’s identity was withheld. The director-general said she was the subject of an arrest warrant approved by the Criminal Court on charges of complicity in human trafficking and procuring and forcing a victim into prostitution.

The alleged victim got public attention in September when, while in the UAE, she posted a video on Facebook about her situation. The video went viral, and PM Prayut then ordered the Labour Ministry to coordinate with the Royal Thai Embassy in Abu Dhabi to return her home. Thai authorities then tracked down the trafficked woman, and the parlour where she was allegedly forced to work was shut down. She was brought home safely.

SOURCE: Bangkok Post | Bangkok Post