People smugglers
Rohingya refugees found in forest
Fourteen Rohingya refugees, including kids, abandoned by people smugglers were found in a southern forest, police said on April 27, almost a year on from a crackdown which has forced traffickers to find new routes.
Muslim Rohingya, an ethnic minority from Myanmar's western Rakhine state, have for years fled their homeland seeking work in Malaysia.
Smugglers abandoned the group ahead of a police checkpoint, police said, adding that they had initially entered Thailand through Kanchanaburi, a much more northern entry point than those usually used by traffickers. — AFP
Holiday horror
Fake tour operator arrested
A 55-year-old tour operator was arrested and charged with fraud for operating an online website to swindle money from people buying tours to Japan and South Korea. Montri Noenthong allegedly fled with the money after receiving the payments.
Montri was caught in Nakhon Sawan on April 26. The arrest followed complaints from customers that they had been duped by Montri's Phitsanulok-based World Tour Travel Co into buying overseas tour packages. His customers complained that after making payment, they were unable to fly to the destinations as advertised and unable to contact Montri.