He was speaking before the US State Department was set to release its 2017 Trafficking in Persons report late tonight (Bangkok time).

“The authorities only focused on the old cases of human trafficking and did not pay much attention to the new issues, such as trafficking in women and children to be sex workers. Moreover, the government was often strict on defensive measures and did not prioritise offensive measures,” Sompong said.

He said that although authorities had stepped up law enforcement, only small-time traffickers were arrested and most cases involving masterminds slipped from prosecution. The government did not work in cooperation with NGOs and these two arms often worked separately.