General among 72 indicted over human trafficking

Thailand said on Friday that it would indict 72 people, including a senior army officer, over human trafficking after the grim trade in migrants from Myanmar and Bangladesh rocked the Southeast Asian region.

The move comes after a major people-smuggling trade unraveled in May when thousands of migrants were abandoned at sea and in jungle camps by traffickers following a Thai crackdown, a crisis that eventually forced a Southeast Asia-wide response.

The Office of the Attorney General of Thailand on Thursday issued an order to indict 72 people on 16 counts, mostly over human trafficking, OAG spokesman Wanchai Roujanavong said at a news conference in Bangkok.