Phuket—
On March 3rd, 2024, Mr. Thanakorn Wangboonkongchana, the Deputy leader of the United Thai Nation, publicly revealed after visiting Phuket last week to inspect and gather information regarding an allegation of foreign mafia gangs in the area.
Phuket is one of the most popular Thai tourist attractions among foreign tourists. However, it was found out that the quantity was greater than the quality in terms of businesses in Phuket, remarked Thanakorn.
Meanwhile, many street vendors and tourism-related workers complained about alleged foreign mafia gangs in the Phuket local, mostly Russian nationals, taking over Thai people’s businesses, stated Thanakorn.
The foreign mafia gangs reportedly were not afraid of laws as they allegedly smuggled illicit substances to their entertainment venues and were wealthy, paying off corrupt officials to avoid legal action, said Thanakorn. He wanted to reflect on the local problems and provide insight to the Thai Prime Minister and Mr. Anutin Charnvirakul, the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of the Interior, for urgent inspection.
Furthermore, it was reported that traffic congestion in Phuket had been an issue for a long time. After acknowledging the issue, the Thai Prime Minister issued an order to Mr. Suriya Juangroongruangkit, the Thai Minister of Transport, and relevant agencies to take immediate action and expand new routes to Phuket Airport.
At 12:30, on the same day, Anutin mentioned the issue regarding the alleged foreign mafia gangs in Phuket and he pressed for action on the issue to Phuket government officials. He asserted that having influential foreigners with a bad reputation having authority over Thai locals is unacceptable.
Anutin also added that any sort of influential person with bad influence, Thai national or not, needed to go if they were not following the law and did not have good intentions.
