Ladyboys steal Russian tourist’s gold necklace in Pattaya, Thailand

In a tale as old as time, another foreign tourist had their gold necklace stolen by ladyboys in Pattaya, Chon Buri province, eastern Thailand, in the dead of night.

At 3am today, 24 year old Artem [surname withheld] of Russian nationality sought help from officers at Pattaya City Police Station.

He said two ladyboys molested him and untied his gold necklace on the beach outside Royal Garden Plaza Pattaya Shopping Centre in Nong Prue subdistrict, Bang Lamung district.

The Tourist Police whizzed to the scene and caught the thieves red-handed clutching a gold necklace. Police arrested 38 year old Kittiphan and 29 year old Aniwat and took them to the station for further legal proceedings.

Police said the area where the crime happened is quite dark and ladyboys are lurking in the shadows waiting to steal from tourists.

In July, Pattaya Police said an Indian tourist reported that a ladyboy stole his 30,000 baht gold necklace.

In May, seven Indian tourists in the space of two weeks reported having their gold necklace stolen in Pattaya.

In April, an Indian tourist claimed that thieves in “sexy dresses” stole his 33,000 baht gold necklace in Pattaya.

Last week, 36 sex workers in Pattaya were arrested near Walking Street for prostitution, which is against the law in Thailand.

Pattaya Police said they were cracking down on transgender prostitutes in particular after the staggering volume of tourists reported to be robbed by ladyboys in the area.

Police have advised tourists to keep their wits about them in Pattaya and be wary of pickpockets.

If you’re in Pattaya, it’s probably best to keep your flashy gold necklace out of sight, too.

Thailand – Phuket and Pattaya in particular – are popular destinations among Russian tourists. Recently, Thailand has seen a surge in arrivals from the war-torn country, taking tourism officials by surprise.