105
or killed.”464 The court convicted Banjong of human trafficking and other crimes and sentenced him
to 79 years in prison.465
In sum, we know the following about the hierarchy of the transnational criminal syndicate
responsible for mass trafficking activities in Southeast Asia between 2012 and 2015: Ko Tong appears
to have procured men, women, and children with the aid of General Manas and arranged for their
movement to human-trafficking camps; Anwar oversaw at least some of the camps; and Banjong
arranged the payments and movement of trafficked persons from the camps to Malaysia. Testimony
demonstrates that Ko Tong and Banjong communicated with one another and also “coordinated and
supported each other,” for example by “providing vehicles” and helping to source and transport
trafficked persons.466 Testimony further indicates that the Source Group, Midway Group, and
Destination Group carried out the physical handling of individuals from Myanmar and Bangladesh
to Thailand and Malaysia with support from Ko Tong, Banjong, and others.467
What we know of the trafficking structure bears similarities to the structure found in the Republic
of Kenya case. In the case of the Republic of Kenya, the Pre-Trial Chamber found that attacks were
“planned, directed or organized by various groups including local leaders, businessmen and
politicians associated with the two leading political parties, as well as by members of the police
force.”468 It also noted that “youths were paid for participating in violence” and that politicians
and businesspeople “financed the violence or supplied weapons, vehicles and petrol.”469 In the case
of the trafficking network described above, prominent local-government leaders and a wealthy
businessperson appear to have funded and directed activities of at least one network with support
from Thai authorities. Low-ranking criminals then carried out the trafficking, killings, torture,
deprivations, and other abuses.
Based on the limited investigation into the trafficking network, there are reasonable grounds to
believe that it possessed a hierarchical structure sufficient to constitute an organization under the
ICC’s jurisprudence.
Capable of committing widespread or systematic attacks
This second prong examines whether the group was capable of committing widespread or
systematic attacks.
In Katanga, a key factor in finding that the Ngiti combatants constituted an organization was their
capability of “conceiving and executing large-scale attacks.” The court highlighted that “despite
the discord that may have existed among some commanders, they united and joined forces to
prepare to wage the battle against their common enemy . . . .”470 The Katanga court found that the
ultimate attack was widespread as it “cost around 200 civilian lives.”471
Similarly, the criminal syndicate responsible for mass trafficking activities in Southeast Asia between
2012 and 2015 “united and joined forces” to inflict attacks on a widespread scale against trafficking
victims. As evidence of the widespread nature of the attacks, the syndicate committed thousands of
instances of imprisonment, at least 800 murders, and numerous instances of torture and rape.472
464 Ibid.
465 Ibid.
466 Fortify Rights internal report on human trafficking case, testimony of Pol. Lt. Col. from Nakhon Sri Thammarat
Immigration Office, trial monitoring notes, Rachada Criminal Court, Human Trafficking Division, Bangkok, June 22,
2016. See also, Thailand: Defense Phase Under Way in Landmark Human Trafficking Trial, Benar News.
467 Ibid.
468 Situation in the Republic of Kenya, Pre-Trial Chamber II, para. 117.
469 Ibid.
470 Ibid.
471 Id. at 1127.
472 See, Chapter I. At Sea: Abuses on Human-Trafficking Ships in the Bay of Bengal; Chapter II. On Land: Abuses at
Human-Trafficking Camps and Houses in Thailand and Malaysia.
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