BANGKOK and DUBAI: A Thai woman was arrested upon arrival at Phuket International Airport this week on charges of sex trafficking, Thailand's National Operation Center on Prevention and Suppression of Human Trafficking announced. The women she had brought to Bahrain have reportedly been rescued. Dutdao Yarana, 27, was arrested on charges of sending Thai girls to Bahrain where they would work as sex workers in the Gulf region. Police told Bikyamasr.com in a statement that they have charged her “with human trafficking by the combination of three or more people for other people's sexual gratification and the combination of engaging to provide, lure or draw other people into prostitution.” The case had been ongoing, police officials said, adding that they had received numerous reports of women being conned into heading to Bahrain to work in spas, but were in fact being taken to work as sex workers in the country. “We are watching this closely and working with the Thai government to understand and investigate these charges from our side in Bahrain,” a Bahrain foreign ministry official told Bikyamasr.com on Tuesday. “We will take all necessary precautions to ensure the safety of women coming to work in Bahrain.” Thai police and the ministry in Bahrain confirmed that police had discovered dozens of Thai women in the capital, Manama, who had been forced to work as sex workers. The victims have been found and are being given treatment. They are to return to Thailand, the government said. It comes on the heels of increased worries that Thai women are being forced into sex slavery across the world. A recent report from Bikyamasr.com highlighted the rise of the global sex trade, which one Thai woman in Norway said saw her forced to be a sex worker in the Northern European country.
