Asia's human smugglers go into hiding

Rohingya Muslims talk with their relatives in Malaysia via a computer at a refugee camp outside Sittwe, Myanmar. - REUTERS/Soe Zeya Tun

SITTWE, Myanmar: The rickety Internet huts have fallen silent in the crowded camps of displaced Rohingya Muslims in western Myanmar, and no one comes anymore to bargain for the release of loved ones being held for ransom in Thailand and Malaysia.

"Before, at least 10 to 15 people would come here every day to negotiate with human traffickers," said Tun Win, a young man who offers a video-call service from one of the bamboo and thatch huts, "Now, there's nothing."