IT WAS a crackdown on trafficking of Rohingya and other migrants, starting in Ranong five years ago, that put key suspect Lt-General Manas Khongpaen in charge, and later taught him to know how to make profit from the illicit trade of humans.
Then a colonel, Manas headed an Internal Security Operations Command (ISOC) in Ranong. It led a coalition of 17 government agencies in an operation, codenamed “Phithak (protect) Andaman”, to monitor movement of and intercept Rohingya and other migrants smuggled through Ranong, mainly on land routes.