Investigation launched into human egg trafficking ring targeting Thai women

Police are investigating a human trafficking case involving the illegal harvesting of eggs from Thai women who were lured to Georgia. These women were initially told they were going to Georgia as surrogate mothers.

It is alleged that three Thai nationals have been repatriated after an incident occurred. They claimed they faced the threat of forced egg harvesting while being held captive in Georgia.

This week, a woman claiming to be a victim recounted her experience at a press conference in Thailand. To protect her identity, she did not reveal her name and wore a mask and hat. She stated that she saw a social media advertisement recruiting surrogate mothers, promising they would live with families and receive approximately $1,182 (25,000 baht) per month.

The woman claiming to be a victim said she was taken to Georgia via Dubai and Armenia, where two Chinese nationals took her to a house. "They took us to a house with 60 to 70 Thai women. The women there told us there were no (surrogacy) contracts or parents," she said. "(These women) would be injected with drugs to receive treatment, anesthetized, and then have their eggs extracted by machine. When we got this information and found it didn't match the advertisement, we were scared and tried to contact people back home."

At the press conference, the women stated that they pretended to be sick and acted weak to avoid having their eggs harvested. They also said that their passports were confiscated and they were told that they would face arrest if they returned to Thailand.

The Pavena Hongsakul Foundation for Children and Women in Thailand helped the three women return to Thailand. The foundation estimates that approximately 100 trafficked Thai women remain stranded in Georgia.

The Georgian Ministry of Internal Affairs has confirmed that four foreign citizens have been questioned as part of the investigation. Surapan Thaiprasert, commander of the Foreign Affairs Division of the Royal Thai Police, said on Friday that Thai authorities are also investigating the matter.