BANGKOK, June 17 — Three Rohingya involved in human trafficking and with links to the defeated Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) in Sri Lanka, Al Qaeda and southern Thai insurgents have been arrested by Thai authorities.
One of them, Mohammad Ali Hussein, was released by Malaysian authorities in April, after being held under the Internal Security Act (ISA) for two years.
The Bangkok Post reported today that Mohammad Ali, Mohammad Mudbahem and Chubri Awae were picked up following a joint operation by the Department of Special Investigation (DSI), armed forces and immigration police.
DSI Chief Police Col. Thawee Sodsong said the trio were involved in human trafficking and passport forgery, normally charging Rohingya, Sri Lankans and Pakistanis about 200,000 baht (RM20,640) to enable them to go to a third country.
The daily said Mohammad Ali also acted as a weapons broker whose clients included the LTTE and human traffickers, and allegedly supplied fake passports to people who possibly included al-Qaeda members who travelled to the United States to carry out the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001.
Mohammad Ali, who used to be based in the southern border city of Hatyai before moving to Bangkok, was arrested on Monday at his Thai wife’s house in Chaiyaphum’s Kaset Sombun district after sneaking into the country early this month.
Thawee also said that based on evidence gathered from their mobile phones, the trio were believed to be involved in weapon smuggling and drug trafficking in the restive southern provinces.
Thailand was embroiled in controversies early this year when its navy was accused of pushing back the Rohingya boat people into the sea. Most of the Rohingya came by boat to Ranong and Phuket before being smuggled into Malaysia or working in the fishing industry and plantations in Thailand.
Most of the Rohingya had fled their home state in Arakan, Myanmar, and about 250,000 are staying in refugee camps in Bangladesh, as well as about 20,000 in Thailand and a large number in Malaysia and Indonesia. – Bernama
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