General Official Involvement Procurement and trafficking for the purposes of forced prostitution are not only widespread in Thailand, but in many instances occur with the direct involvement of the Thai police or border guards. It is extremely difficult for Burmese to cross the border and travel any distance without the knowledge and involvement of the Thai police. Ten of our thirty interviewees were willing and able to identify police who had been involved in transporting them from the Thai-Burmese border into northern Thailand or directly to a brothel. The situation in Ranong is particularly alarming because of the large extent to which the local police and government authorities condone and at times collaborate in the systematic abuse of Burmese women and girls. 39 Police involvement in forced prostitution persists after the women and girls are in the brothel.
Brothels routinely operate with police knowledge and police protection.
The police found account books listing protection payments to Thai government officials. Fifty percent of the Burmese women and girls we interviewed reported having police as clients. Of these, most told of special privileges the police received from brothel owners. They usually came in uniform in groups of two to five men and were very friendly with the owner. The police were the only ones allowed to take girls out of the brothel, and they never had to pay.