Thai human trafficking boat owner detained in Myanmar

Myanmar government officials and UN officials stand on a boat used for human trafficking at a jetty outside Sittwe, Myanmar May 23, 2015. [Photo/Agencies]

YANGON -- The Thai human trafficking boat owner who attempted to traffic over 200 Bengalis on boat over the past week was detained in Myanmar's Yangon, an official media reported on Saturday.

The Myanmar navy, during regular patrol in the country's territorial waters on May 21, intercepted two suspected fishing trawlers off the western coast of Maungtaw, western Rakhine state, and found that one of the boats carried 208 people on board and the other was empty.

The 53-year old Thai citizen, Ou Mint, who lives in Ranoung, southern Thailand, was said to have contacted human trafficking gangs in Bangladesh and trafficked people into Thailand and Malaysia, the Global New Light of Myanmar reported.

According to the Myanmar Ministry of Home Affairs, the Myanmar police force in cooperation with the Thai police are trying to arrest the other people involved in the case.

Among the 208 boat people, 200 were identified as Bangladeshi and arrangement were being made to repatriate them to their homeland under an agreement between authorities of Myanmar and Bangladesh.