The police officer shows the chart of an illegal immigrant smuggling ring known as the “Asraf Gang.”
BANGKOK – Immigration Bureau officials held a press conference on January 18, 2024, to announce the expansion of the arrest of an illegal immigrant smuggling ring known as the “Asraf Gang,” named after the Bangladeshi leader.
The operation lasted more than a year and resulted in the arrest of two Bangladeshi suspects: Mr. Asraf, 46, and Mr. Abu, 47, on Paknam Road in Pattani City, Pattani province.
Pol. Col. Panupakaya Jitprayurathi, Deputy Commander of the Immigration Bureau’s Criminal Investigation Division, said the case began in January and March 2023 when Immigration Department officers arrested 41 Bangladesh immigrants who had illegally entered Thailand in Songkhla, Pattani and Narathiwat provinces.
Five cases were opened against them. Another 10 people were then arrested, including eight Thai nationals, one Bangladesh national, and one Pakistani national.
The analysis revealed that all the immigrants had entered the kingdom illegally via a natural border crossing between Thailand and Cambodia in Sa Kaeo province. They then took a bus to Bangkok where they were handed over to Mr. Abu, a subordinate of Mr. Asraf.
Mr. Abu was responsible for organizing vehicles to take them to a group of Thais waiting in Songkhla to take them to Malaysia for illegal work via a natural border crossing in Narathiwat province.
The investigation team spent almost a year gathering evidence before they discovered that Mr. Asraf was a Bangladeshi businessman who owned an import-export company. Behind the scenes, however, he was responsible for connecting all the immigrants with agents in Bangladesh and Cambodia to allow them to enter Thailand.
Along with the 10 suspects who had previously been arrested, they demanded a fee of 100,000-150,000 baht per person. The network was found to have over 117 million baht in circulation.
