Police launch raids on popular nightlife venues on Bangla Road
In a bold move to clean up the streets of Patong, police and health officials are back in action, targeting Bangla Road’s nightlife hotspots with surprise drug tests. The high-stakes operation saw staff at multiple entertainment venues undergo random tests, aiming to ensure drug-free working environments in the heart of Phuket’s party scene.
Patong Police, led by Chief Police Colonel Chalermchai Hirasawat, alongside his deputies Pol. Lt. Col. Narubadin Panglisen, Pol. Lt. Col. Somporn Surin, and Pol. Lt. Col. Suchart Chumphusang spearheaded the campaign.
“We’re committed to making sure Bangla Road remains safe for everyone.”
Kathu district officials, including Jiravat Namart and Sikarin Aninbon, joined the effort, bolstered by volunteers from the local Volunteer Defence Corps. Public health was also on the agenda, with Namchai Prateep leading the district’s health officials in the raids.
This crackdown, part of the third phase of a wider crime prevention campaign by Region 8 Police, falls under the banner “Protect the people, suppress dangers, be modern, and care for the people.” Their focus is to ensure that popular entertainment venues are drug-free through random urine tests as part of the White Entertainment Venue Project.
A total of 141 employees were tested—73 men and 68 women—but Patong Police remain tight-lipped about whether any tests came back positive, reported Phuket News.
In other news, Thai police arrested three young people involved in a large-scale drug trafficking operation in Bangkok. Officers seized 600,000 methamphetamine (meth) pills and 45 kilogrammes of crystal methamphetamine (Ice), with a street value of over 9 million baht.
Vorawit Yanachinda, Special Branch Bureau Commissioner, along with deputy commissioners, received a report from Wasan Thawatchaiwirut, the patrol inspector, and Nattadon Bumrungsri, the patrol sub-inspector.