Local Thai official arrested for alleged involvement in migrants' death

Thai police have arrested a local official for alleged involvement in the deaths of many Rohingya migrants, whose bodies were recently uncovered in southern Thailand, national police chief said on Monday.

The arrested suspect is a municipal councilor at the Thai border area of Padang Besar in Songkhla province, where the bodies of 26 Rohingya people were reportedly unearthed on Friday, Somyot Pumpunmuang was quoted by Bangkok Post as saying.

Police are looking for five other suspects, including government officials, who are allegedly involved in the deaths of the migrants, according to Somyot.

All perpetrators will be arrested and no one will be spared, he stressed.

Human traffickers were believed to have brought the Rohingyas from the southern coastal Thai province of Ranong and been destined for Malaysia where they might have been employed as cheap labor.

Deputy Defense Minister and army chief Udomdej Sitabutr reportedly said on Monday that he had visited Songkhla and Ranong to follow up on the investigation into the case, calling for an urgent solution to human trafficking in Thailand.

The matter has to be coordinated between Thailand and Malaysia, as this particular human trafficking gang is believed to have connections in the two countries, he added. Endi