Phuket –
A Russian man was arrested on Monday (May 6th) in Phuket after he was found allegedly illegally working online.
Phuket Immigration told the Phuket Express that they were notified by a concerned good citizen that a foreigner was working providing massages illegally via Instagram and Whatsapp. An officer contacted him via an online channel. They then operated a sting operation to buy his massage services in the Russian language. They paid 200 US dollars which was about 7,000 baht.
An unidentified officer then arrived at a house in Wichit posing as a customer where he met with the suspect, identified only as, Mr. ALEKSANDR, 37, Russian national, who was doing massage therapy to other customers. He was arrested and taken to the Wichit Police Station to face charges of working without permission.
The suspect did not release any statement to the press.