Myanmar police failed to save 43 victims of human trafficking between November and January this year, according to police records.
Police also say most of the 287 people on record as trafficking victims in Myanmar were sold to Chinese farmers as brides. Others were forced into prostitution or manual labor.
Out of 119 total trafficking cases recorded in Myanmar this year, 42 were in Shan State, 21 were in Yangon and 11 were in Kachin State.
“Most of the victims are poor and ignorant, especially in remote villages. Women are mostly targeted and sold to Chinese farmers as brides. Women are scarce there,” a police officer from the anti-human trafficking force told Eleven.
The police officer also said victims have been “priced” based on age and that women who have never had sex before earned more money for their captors than other women did.
Myanmar police say they are helping to rehabilitate victims and are working to prevent future trafficking cases by handing out information at bus stations, ports and train stations to educate people about human trafficking.
Police have arrested 207 human traffickers this year, and 154 remain at large.
