The defendants include the former Padang Besar mayor Banjong Pongpol (1st defendant), former Satun provincial administrative organisation president Pajjuban Angchotpan (29th defendant), and former Army special adviser Lt-General Manas Kongpaen (the 54th defendant).

The investigation into this case stemmed from the discovery in May 2015 of trafficking camps near the Thai-Malaysian border where some 30 bodies, believed to be Rohingya people from Myanmar and migrants from Bangladesh, were found in shallow graves in Songkhla.