Police patrol Pattaya Beach looking for guns, booze, prostitutes
Police in Pattaya is continuing their commitment to crack down on law-breaking along the beach. They were out on patrol Monday night and added prostitution to the list of illegal activities that they were on the lookout to prevent. The police plan to operate regular patrols and be much more strict on things like drinking on the beach and carrying weapons than they have in the past.
The vow was made over the weekend after a group of rival students fired guns on the beach in front of the Pattaya Police Station. Police said they were stepping up their nightly patrols, searching for illegal drugs, alcohol, weapons and firearms. Now it seems that they’ve added prostitution to the list of crimes.
The Pattaya police chief recently returned to his post after being put on leave from his office following the suicide of a Kyrgyzstani woman forced into prostitution. He set to work on cracking down on illicit activities in the area, asking people to help make Pattaya Beach safer for everyone.
“We want to establish trust. Tourists should feel safe whenever they come to the beach. I urge those who unfortunately encounter illegal activities to contact the police for an immediate response.”
The Pattaya News reported a patrol was launched at 9pm on Monday in order to keep foreign tourists, Thai tourists, and locals safe to enjoy the beach. The sweep was conducted by police officers, immigration officers, and volunteers along Pattaya Beach. They fanned out along the beach, looking for drinking or drug use, as well as any suspicious activity that might suggest the presence of weapons.
They also performed random checks on people who were seen lingering under the trees along the beach, suspicious of anyone who may be offering or soliciting prostitution.
Another specific target due to past incidents was young people out on the beach. The beach is a popular locale for drinking because students are not usually confronted by parents or authority figures there. Pattaya Police officers checked in on groups of teenagers to make sure that they weren’t drinking alcohol, consuming drugs, or carrying any weapons.
During their patrol, police picked up several people on the beach, though the exact amount was not revealed. Those people found participating in illicit activities were registered at the police station for officers to keep an eye on them in the future.
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