A Myanmar district court has sentenced three brothers to long-term imprisonment for trafficking six women and children to an unidentified neighboring country, official newspaper The New Light of Myanmar reported Tuesday.

Of the three brothers, who were arrested in February last year and sentenced by the Yangon East District Court on Feb. 7 this year, one was sentenced to life imprisonment and the other two to ten years' imprisonment for trafficking four women and two children to a neighboring country, the paper said.

Official concerned in cooperation with social organizations are launching anti-human trafficking programs including educating women and children regarding trafficking in persons and meeting out severe punishment for human trafficking, it added.

Meanwhile, the Yamethin district special court in Mandalay division has sentenced 33 local human traffickers among the 51 arrested by the Myanmar police force with the cooperation of its neighboring counterpart between last December and February this year to life imprisonment for trafficking 49 Myanmar young women to an unidentified neighboring country, according to another report of the paper Monday.

In September last year, Myanmar authorities also nabbed a 30- member human trafficking gang on the Myanmar-China border in cooperation with the Chinese police force for trafficking 180 Myanmar young women, according to the Home Ministry.

To step up the momentum in cracking down on human trafficking, the Myanmar authorities have formed nine special units to combat such crimes in nine township areas bordering China, the sources said.

Meanwhile, Myanmar formed the Central Committee for Anti- Trafficking in Persons in March last year to step up cracking down on such crime.

According to the ministry, Myanmar had exposed 748 human trafficking cases since July 2002 up to September last year, arresting 1,484 such traffickers including 669 women and rescuing 3,694 victims including 1,790 women.

Source: Xinhua