The Royal Thai Police, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and the Ministry of Labour reiterated the success achieved following discussions with the United States, and are moving forward with intensifying efforts to combat human trafficking and call center scams. They are preparing to launch the “Shield” system for real-time information exchange and money trail tracking with international partners.
Date 8 May 2569 Police General Thatchai Pitanilabutr, Deputy Commissioner General of the Royal Thai Police, in his capacity as Director of the Anti-Human Trafficking Center, Royal Thai Police. (Deputy Commissioner General of Police/Director of the Crime Suppression Center, Royal Thai Police) A press release outlining the results of operations and discussions with U.S. authorities to enhance cooperation in combating transnational crime, call center scams, and human trafficking.
The Thai government places great importance on addressing the issue of human trafficking. From April 21-25, 2569, Thai representatives traveled to the United States to meet with the TIP Office, the US agency responsible for overseeing and classifying countries’ tiers of human trafficking. They presented the results of their efforts in preventing and suppressing all forms of human trafficking.
Pol. Gen. Thatchai said that the U.S. President has emphasized the need to crack down on call center gangs that defraud U.S. citizens, most of whom are based in Southeast Asia.
The United States commended Thailand for establishing a war room integrated with financial institutions to provide concrete assistance to victims and plans to use it as a model. They also praised the cooperation between the Royal Thai Police and the FBI in exchanging information and freezing assets, which has positively impacted Thailand’s Tier rating.
In addition, Pol. Gen. Thatchai also reported to the United States on the investigation following the dismantling of a large scamming operation in Cambodia, which uncovered numerous individuals involved. The Royal Thai Police, in collaboration with international partners, gathered evidence and found information regarding illegal detention, torture, and forced labor, as well as certain types of medical equipment. Further investigation is currently underway.
Regarding the impact on Thailand, the Royal Thai Police has implemented proactive measures in two dimensions:
- Prevent the establishment of call center bases in neighboring countries that affect Thai people.
- Prevent Thailand from being used as a transit point to deceive foreign victims into entering third countries.
The Royal Thai Police are preparing to launch the “Shield” system to exchange real-time information and financial trails of call center networks with other countries. This will elevate the war room to an international level to jointly address this large-scale organized crime problem. The police confirm that currently no large-scale operational bases of call center gangs have been found within the country, and that if any are discovered using Thailand as an operational base, decisive action will be taken against them.
side Ms. Hattaya Khusakul, Director-General of the Department of Americas and South Pacific, Ministry of Foreign Affairs. It was stated that Thailand is currently ranked at Tier 2 for the fourth consecutive year and has made significant progress in the Trafficking in Persons Report (TIP Report), an annual report by the U.S. Department of State. The U.S. government has commended Thai agencies for their integrated cooperation, enforcement of new laws, capacity building of officials, and strong arrest records.
Furthermore, the United States places great emphasis on combating online scams, which cause over $10,000 billion in damages, with a focus on processes for recovering money for victims.
while Ms. Sophana Boon-long, Director of the Secretariat Office of the Labor Trafficking Prevention Command, Ministry of Labour. The Ministry of Labour, as a multidisciplinary team, has proactively identified and targeted victims of call center scams and online job fraud, integrating its work with the Human Trafficking Suppression Division and the Royal Thai Police to provide systematic and professional assistance to victims.
The discussions with U.S. officials were met with commendation for the integrated cooperation among various agencies in Thailand. This is considered a positive sign for Thailand in the assessment of its ranking in the human trafficking situation, as Thailand has made serious and continuous efforts in prevention, suppression, and victim identification.
