Police Arrests 93 Traffickers in Myanmar
KABUL: (Middle East Press) Myanmar police have arrested at least 93 people for human trafficking offences this year, media reports say, amid the recent exodus of Rohingya Muslims from the country.
Police gave a breakdown of their anti-trafficking activities with 56 cases recorded between January and May, the Global New Light of Myanmar reported, citing police captain Min Naing.
The report added that police had made 93 arrests over the last five months.
“Most Myanmar victims were sold into forced marriages in China and forced labor in Thailand,” the report said.
Most of the cases have been discovered in eastern Shan State near the borders with Thailand, Laos and China, followed by Mandalay and Yangon, the two largest cities of Myanmar.
But the report added: “There have been no reports of human trafficking cases in… Rakhine state this year.”
Rights groups and observers say Rakhine is a major human trafficking hub.
Rights groups and observers also describe the impoverished western state as a major human trafficking hub, which has seen deadly tensions between Myanmar’s Buddhist majority and Rohingya Muslim minority.
In recent years tens of thousands of Rohingya have left, fleeing on often deadly voyages across the Bay of Bengal at the hands of ruthless people-smuggling and trafficking networks.
