Cambodia cracks human trafficking ring
Phnom Penh (dpa) - Cambodian police said Tuesday they had cracked a major human trafficking ring involving Sri Lankan and Pakistani nationals involved in shipping people to third countries via Cambodia.
Police sources said Thangavelu Rames, 38, and Thangavelu Saravana Jathesh, 36, both of Sri Lanka, and Mohamad Noorullar, 48, of Pakistan, had been arrested late last month and deported to face trial in their own countries last week.
Police said they were still seeking Sri Lankans Mariam Pillai and her husband Lerins Raani, 44, as well as Pakistani man Mohamad Nadim and at least one other man in connection with the ring.
Deputy Chief of Phnom Penh Municipal Police in charge of security, General He Prov, confirmed the details but said it was an ongoing case and declined further comment.
Local newspapers close to the police covered the story extensively Tuesday accompanied by photos of the seven main accused.
Police sources who declined to be named alleged the group had planned to send more than 200 South Asians, mainly adult men, on to an undisclosed third country next month via Cambodia.
"This case had been going on for a long time. They may have been behind thousands of people passing through here to all sorts of countries. Australia and Europe are two destinations they looked at," a source said.
Police said the group used a network of Indian restaurants as cover, including popular backpacker haunts Raani Curry Leaf, Taj Mahal and Indian Curry Pot, and that the network stretched through the port town of Sihanoukville, the coastal town of Kampot, the northern tourist hub of Siem Reap, and Phnom Penh.
Cambodia worked in cooperation with the home countries of the accused to make the arrests. Prime Minister Hun Sen recently declared the fight against human trafficking to be a primary priority for the government.
Police sources said Thangavelu Rames, 38, and Thangavelu Saravana Jathesh, 36, both of Sri Lanka, and Mohamad Noorullar, 48, of Pakistan, had been arrested late last month and deported to face trial in their own countries last week.
Police said they were still seeking Sri Lankans Mariam Pillai and her husband Lerins Raani, 44, as well as Pakistani man Mohamad Nadim and at least one other man in connection with the ring.
Deputy Chief of Phnom Penh Municipal Police in charge of security, General He Prov, confirmed the details but said it was an ongoing case and declined further comment.
Local newspapers close to the police covered the story extensively Tuesday accompanied by photos of the seven main accused.
Police sources who declined to be named alleged the group had planned to send more than 200 South Asians, mainly adult men, on to an undisclosed third country next month via Cambodia.
"This case had been going on for a long time. They may have been behind thousands of people passing through here to all sorts of countries. Australia and Europe are two destinations they looked at," a source said.
Police said the group used a network of Indian restaurants as cover, including popular backpacker haunts Raani Curry Leaf, Taj Mahal and Indian Curry Pot, and that the network stretched through the port town of Sihanoukville, the coastal town of Kampot, the northern tourist hub of Siem Reap, and Phnom Penh.
Cambodia worked in cooperation with the home countries of the accused to make the arrests. Prime Minister Hun Sen recently declared the fight against human trafficking to be a primary priority for the government.
