The former chief investigator into the Rohingya trafficking case plans to move abroad with his family after resigning from the police force out of fear for his family’s safety.    

According to Thairath News, Maj Gen Paween Pongsiri, the head of the team investigating the human trafficking of Rohingya and Bangladeshi migrants, has reportedly decided to move abroad with his family out of fear of the repercussions from the still powerful trafficking syndicates.

Paween’s investigation team has so far led to 153 arrests warrants being issued against suspects in human trafficking rings after the discovery of the mass graves along the Thai-Malaysian border in May 2015.

91 people, including a high ranking Army officer, Maj Gen Manas Kongpaen, four police officers, and the former head of the Satun Provincial Administration Organisation, Patchuban Angchotphan, have been arrested. The remaining 62 suspects, however, are still at large.

The discovery of the mass graves, which made headlines worldwide coupled with the US government’s decision to keep the country on Tier-3 in its Trafficking in Persons (TIP) Reports for two consecutive years and fear of trade sanctions from the EU, especially in the lucrative fishery industry, prompted the Thai authorities to clamp down on human trafficking networks, which had been ignored previously.       

Paween recently made a resignation request after receiving an order transferrng him to the restive Deep South of Thailand.

He believes that the transfer would make him vulnerable to repercussions from members of trafficking syndicates.

Pol Gen Chakthip Chaijinda granted his resignation request reluctantly, saying that Paween is someone with knowledge and should have asked for protection instead.