US sex slave ring exposed

>> The Anti-Trafficking in Persons Division (ATPD) announced that it is prepared to investigate a case about hundreds of Thai women being forced into sexual slavery in the United States.

The move came after US authorities indicted 38 people in relation to the offence. They say that a sex trafficking ring lured Thai women to the US with promises of a better life, then forced them to work as prostitutes until they could pay off often insurmountable bondage debts.

Acting US Attorney Gregory Brooker said the women were rotated through several prostitution houses around the US, forced to work long hours and have sex with strangers — “even if the men were abusive”, he added.

The authorities charged 21 people — 10 Thais and 11 US nationals — with various counts, including conspiracy to commit sex trafficking, sex trafficking by use of force or threats, conspiracy to engage in money laundering and operating an unlicensed money transmitting business.

The charges against them were filed at a federal court in Saint Paul, Minnesota, on Thursday. Most of the defendants were arrested a day earlier across various US cities, from Los Angeles to Chicago.

Pol Maj Gen Konchai Khlaikhlueng, chief of the ATPD, said yesterday that his agency contacted the Thai consulate in the US in October, but not much information about the people behind the network has been obtained.

Once more information on the case is acquired, the ATPD says it will be ready to expand its probe, he added.