Thai police rescued 47 girls from Laos when they raided two karaoke bars in a province near BangKok Wednesday night. The girls had been locked up in the back rooms and forced to provide sex services to bar patrons. Eight of the girls are under the age of 18.
Thai authorities arrested the owners of the bars along with their partners. They said the bars were part of a human trafficking ring that sends women and girls from Laos to Burma and Cambodia.
Meanwhile, Thai experts say the problem of human trafficking in the Greater Mekong Sub-region has gotten worse with more and more women and children being trafficked and forced to work as prostitutes and beggars.
Listen to our Laos Today report for more details.