24 trafficking rings out of reach

Thailand has taken a strong stand to halt human trafficking through the sea route. But there is no such initiative in Bangladesh and Myanmar, the countries where the human trafficking originates. The government of Malaysia, the final destination of this trafficking, is also silent.

The prime minister of Thailand had given a 10-day deadline to nab the local gangs involved in human trafficking. The deadline expired on Monday. So far 45 traffickers have been nabbed and 17 remain at large. They have been ordered to surrender within 24 hours, or else their assets will be confiscated.

Before the deadline ended, on Monday the former president of Satun provincial administrative organisation Pajjuban Angchotephan surrendered to the police. He is known as "Ko Tong" or "Big Brother". He is considered the most powerful among the trafficking rings. He had been in hiding along with his family. The Thai police chief announced his surrender at a press conference.

Prothom Alo's investigations yielded the names of the heads of 24 rings involved in human trafficking in Bangladesh and Myanmar. Eleven of these are centred in Bangladesh and 13 in Myanmar. In Myanmar, other than the head of a ring, all the rest are free and flourishing. Thailand police arrested this Myanmar gang leader on 28 April. It was through interrogating him that the mass graves were unearthed in the Thai jungles.

Bangladesh's state minister for home affairs Asaduzzaman Kamal on Monday told Prothom Alo, people from Myanmar are more involved in this human trafficking than Bangladesh, particularly from the Muslim populated areas. He said, "We are catching those involved in Bangladesh as soon as we get information about them. The agents involved in this business are being caught and brought under the law."

Persons who closely know Sangkhla's field level government officers, private organisations and traffickers, have revealed the names of the top traffickers in Bangladesh and Myanmar. They are known as "Boss" to the ring members. The head of Bangladesh's biggest trafficking ring is Sharif, known as 'Sharif Boss'. He stays in Malaysia most of the time.

Next there is 'Kalam Boss'. He is from Jessore. He stays in Malaysia mostly. Before the sea route operations started, Kalam would send people illegally by air to Malaysia via Laos and Thailand. Another ring is run from Malaysia by Kibria. It could not be ascertain which district in Bangladesh he was from.

The heads of the other rings are Mohammed Amin and Akhter Hossain Majhi of Mistripara in Teknaf, Cox's Bazar; Anar Ali of Nayapara; Salimullah of Rangikhali; Mohammed Abu Tayyab of Shahpari Dwip; and Mohammed Suman of Thaiyongkhali, Ukhia. They would initiative work for big agents in Myanmar and have now formed their own rings. They all live in Malaysia.

Two rings of Myanmar are also involved in trafficking Bangladeshis along with Rohingyas by sea route from the Bangladesh border in Teknaf. The heads of these two rings, Deen Mohammed (living in Myanmar) and Abdul Gafur (living in Malaysia), are from Arakan. They have a large network of agents.

The Bangladeshi rings have their persons to control the people in the Thai jungles. They are called 'agents'. There are at least 30 'agents' of the Bangladeshi gangs in Sangkhla. Sources closely associated with them in Thailand said, once the Thai government cracked down on the traffickers, they fled towards Bangkok. Some of them went to Cambodia from there.

When those in Thailand were contacted through other sources, they refused to speak to this correspondent. The victims have said, no matter where the head of the ring may be, the ransom money changes hands in Bangladesh. Many victims have returned to Bangladesh after paying ransom, and many have landed up in Thai prisons. The correspondent spoke to at least 20 such persons. They said their families paid the money through BKash, the mobile phone money transfer system.

Local police sources in Thailand have said, Anwar Hossain is the biggest human trafficker. He was born in Arakan but has Thai citizenship. Sangkhla police have arrested him.

Sources in the Rohingya community living in Thailand, however, say that Hafez Ahmad is Anwar's guru. He lives in the Myanmar capital Naypyidaw. He is considered the most powerful human trafficker in the sea route.

Other than these two, the heads of separate rings from Arakan are Syed Karim, Mohammed Ali, Abdur Rashid, Ismail, Mohammed Hossain, Mohammed Ayaz, Deen Mohammed, Hamidullah, Mohammed Arif and Shafiq. The first six live in Thailand, Ayaz in Malaysia and the rest in Myanmar.

Over the past five days, several sources and people of the local Muslim community were contacted. None of them were willing to reveal their names. They said, these rings were very dangerous and had connections with Thai police and others.

There is evidence supporting their statements. The Thai government has withdrawn 50 police officers from the area, on allegations of their involvement with the trafficking rings. Investigation is being carried out against them.

The Thai authorities cracked down on the traffickers when the mass graves of trafficked Bangladeshis and Rohingyas were found in Thailand on 1 May. Arrest warrants were issued against 62 persons. On 7 May Thailand's national police chief Somyot Poompanmoung told the media, the prime minister Prayut Chan-o-cha issued orders for the traffickers to be caught in 10 days.

After that many were arrested and many surrendered. In all, 45 have been brought under the law. The other 17 have been given 24 hours to surrender. If they do not do so, their property will be confiscated.

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