2 foreigners in Phuket caught running businesses without licences

Phuket Provincial Tourist Police arrested two foreigners for running their businesses, a money exchange shop and a travel agency, without licences. The arrests stem from a crackdown on illegal foreigners and their businesses following the Swiss man scandal.

Prompted by the conflict between the Swiss man and the Thai doctor, as well as complaints from locals, all Phuket police departments launched investigations into illegal foreigners and foreign-owned businesses operating in the province.

Provincial Police Region 8 officers yesterday, March 6, arrested two Russian men for illegally working at a car rental shop, Boomerang Car & Bike Rental, in the Talang district of Phuket. Their Russian employer was also charged with employing foreigners without work permits.

Phuket Provincial Tourist Police also reported that they successfully tracked down and arrested two foreigners operating illegal businesses in the province.

The first suspect was a Romanian man, 28 year old Ion, who opened a travel agency and offered travel packages to customers without a business licence. He was arrested in a hotel car park in Phuket’s Katu district and was charged with two offences including:

• Section 8 and 101 of the Emergency Decree on Foreigners’ Working Management: working without a work permit. The penalty is a fine of 5,000-to-50,000-baht, deportation, and a ban on applying for a work permit for two years
• Section 15 and 80 of the Tourism Business Act: running a tourism business without a licence. The penalty is imprisonment of up to two years or a fine of up to 500,000 baht.

The second foreign suspect was a Russian man, 37 year old Andrei, who owned an illegal money exchange shop called Money Station in the Talang district of Phuket. Andrei was also found overstaying his visa leading to two charges including:

• Section 81 of the Immigration Act: staying in the country with an expired permit. The penalty for this charge depends on the length of the overstay and the consideration given by the authorities.
• Section 37(1) of the Immigration Act: working without a permit after being granted a temporary stay. The penalty is imprisonment for up to one year, a fine of up to 10,000 baht, or both.