No sex on the beach: Cops go nuts for ‘coconut tree’ sex workers

More than 50 alleged sex workers were rounded up along Pattaya Beach last night in a dramatic police sweep, just over a week after furious residents branded previous crackdowns a “PR stunt.”

Officers stormed the beachfront at 9.06pm, yesterday, May 21, in a coordinated operation aimed at flushing out the illegal trade tarnishing the city’s tourist image. The move came after locals and expats fumed that earlier raids had been little more than a media circus.

“It’s always the same. They pose for the cameras, grab a few girls, and then it’s business as usual the next night,” one long-term expat told reporters.

Led by Police Colonel Anek Sathongyoo, Superintendent of Pattaya City Police, the latest sting involved over 50 officers from Tourist Police, Immigration, local administrators and Chon Buri’s Social Development team.

The crackdown, part of a wider effort to clean up the city’s sleazy reputation, targeted a notorious stretch of the beach where women and transgender individuals allegedly operate under the cover of coconut trees, openly soliciting tourists.

Police said the beach sex scene has sparked a rise in thefts and violence, prompting the tough new approach.

The raid was split into two squads, one to carry out arrests, and another to cut off escape routes. Despite a few suspects bolting down nearby alleys, more than 50 were detained and hauled off to Pattaya City Police Station for questioning and documentation, Pattaya News reported.

All were later handed over to social services for legal processing and fines under Thai prostitution laws.

It follows a series of similar busts, including a high-profile raid in December that saw 20 foreign women, from countries including Uganda, Uzbekistan and Madagascar, arrested for allegedly selling sex.

Then, on May 8, police launched the so-called “Soi Phee Maprao” or Coconut Tree Sweep, bagging another 13 women, mostly from Eastern Europe and Africa, in what officials claimed was part of a long-term plan to “restore Pattaya’s image as a family-friendly destination.”

But scepticism remains. One Thai resident near the beachfront said: “The raids are flashy, but nothing really changes. If they’re serious, they need to follow through, not just do it when the cameras are rolling.”