Asia-Pacific

5 human traffickers arrested in Myanmar

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2010-02-25 13:42

YANGON: A total of five local people, including four women, have been arrested by the Myanmar authorities for trafficking young women to other countries, the state newspaper New Light of Myanmar reported Thursday.

According to the authorities, Myanmar human traffickers organize and take young women to the other countries, giving such false incentives that they will be employed with well-paid jobs in the foreign countries and after being trafficked, the victims are forcibly married to native men.

To prevent such tragedy, the authorities are giving educative talks on human trafficking in order that young women will not be deceived and trafficked by human traffickers.

Meanwhile, other 22 trafficked Myanmar people, including 8 men and 14 women, were repatriated from neighboring Thailand early this month as a follow-up of the case in December last year when 39 trafficked women were so rescued, according to the Social Welfare Department.

In April last year, Myanmar reached a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Thailand as part of the country's cooperation with neighbors in fighting against human trafficking.

The areas of cooperation under the MoU cover combating all aspects of human trafficking including prevention, protection, rehabilitation, reintegration, law enforcement, justice and developing and implementing joint action between the two countries.

Neighboring countries with which Myanmar is cooperating include China, Thailand, India and Bangladesh as well as the Russian Federation and Vietnam.