More than 30 Foreigners Involved in Various Illegal Actions Arrested in Phuket Last Week as Crackdown Continues

Sunday, 10 March 2024, 19:09

Phuket –

There were 33 foreigners who have been arrested in Phuket after a viral alleged kicking incident involving a Swiss expat who dominated Thai media in the past week. However, no foreign mafia was found, according to the Phuket Police Commander.

Our previous story:

A Swiss Expat in Phuket at the center of a viral alleged kicking incident has been bailed but he is being banned from working and leaving Thailand.

Now for the update:

The Phuket Provincial Police Commander Major General Lertsin Sukhum told the Phuket Express that police are intensely cracking down on foreigners breaking Thai laws on the island. Since October of last year, 2023, until now, which is about four months, police have arrested in total 360 foreigners for various illegal behaviours and actions.

Of those, after the Swiss expat in an alleged kicking incident went viral, police have arrested 33 foreigners in only about one week. However, police have not found any evidence of any so-called foreign mafia controlling many businesses and industries yet, according to Major General Lertsin.

In response to criticism from some sectors that Phuket was targeting and discriminating against foreigners, police have said this isn’t the case and that the focus is only on those breaking the laws such as working illegally, on overstay, getting into fights, threatening others, or engaged in illegal drugs, and that the overwhelmingly vast majority of foreigners who followed and respected Thai laws had nothing to be concerned with.

Thai police have also said that the law is equal for everyone and Thais who also broke the law would be held accountable.