Police have arrested a young Thai couple in the northern province of Chiang Mai on suspicion of luring compatriots into slavery at a scam centre in Cambodia.
Angkan, 28, and Sahathai, 29, were taken into custody at a rented room in Ban Arunothai village of tambon Muang Na in Chiang Dao district on Saturday, said Pol Maj Gen Withaya Sriprasertparp, commander of the Anti-Trafficking in Persons Division.
Officers were acting on a complaint from two people who said the couple had invited to do administrative jobs in Cambodia in April last year.
The victims were quoted as saying that when they arrived in Cambodia, they were detained and forced to defraud innocent people through investment scams.
Workers who did not meet their income targets would be punished with stun batons and assaulted. The complainants claimed to have seen some assaulted Thais who died in cells.
Both victims said they fell seriously ill in Cambodia and asked Chinese gang leaders to free them. The latter demanded 500,000 baht from each of them. Later the ransom was reduced to 120,000 baht.
After paying the ransom and being released, the victims filed their complaint with Thai police. Investigators identified 10 suspects, both Chinese and Thai people who were outside the country.
Detectives later learned that Mr Angkan and his wife Sahathai had sneaked back into Thailand. Initially they hid in Wang Nam Yen district of Sa Kaeo bordering Cambodia. Later they moved to Chiang Dao district of Chiang Mai.
Police arrested them and found evidence of their online chats apparently intending to lure more victims.
The couple claimed they were colleagues of the two complainants and had witnessed assaults and ransom demands while in Cambodia, but they denied recruiting workers for a scam gang.
Police also suspected the couple of managing mule accounts for scam operators, Pol Maj Gen Withaya said.
