THE first of a series of training courses funded by the Australian government to help Myanmar combat human trafficking ended in Yangon last week.

The training course in basic investigation techniques, presented by two officers from the Australian Federal Police, was held at the Drug Elimination Museum in Kamaryut township from July 15 to 23.

It was attended by 36 members of the Myanmar Police Force, including 12 women, who will serve in an Anti-Trafficking Unit established earlier this year by the Ministry of Home Affairs.

The training is being provided as part of an A$8 million Australian government project to prevent human trafficking in Myanmar, Cambodia, Laos and Thailand.

Myanmar and Australia signed a memorandum of understanding last December for the training program.

The next training course would be for police officers based in border orders, said Police Lieutenant-Colonel Rallyan Mone, the deputy director of the Transnational Organised Crime Unit, under the Ministry of Home Affairs.

The dates for the course were yet to be decided, said Police Lieutenant-Colonel Rallyan Mone, who also heads an anti human trafficking unit at the ministry.

He welcomed the assistance provided by the Australian government, saying it would help the MPF in its work to combat human trafficking.

A committee established by the Ministry of Home Affairs in July 2002 is working to combat human trafficking in collaboration with other ministries and non-government organisations.

The committee’s 24 members include members of the MPF and the Myanmar National Committee for Women’s Affairs.

Police Lieutenant-Colonel Rallyan Mone said 715 people had been detained for involvement in human trafficking between July 2002 and June 30 this year.

He said 157 had been sentenced to jail terms of between 10 years and life and the other cases were yet to go to court.

In the same period, 2010 people – of whom 60 per cent were women – had been rescued from human traffickers.