Illegals top arrest statistics

PHUKET: Illegal immigrants topped the list of arrests in Phuket between March 1 and 25, according to statistics released today by the Phuket Provincial Police. Of 675 people arrested, 247 were illegal immigrants. This was followed by gambling, with 189 people arrested in the course of 85 raids. Drug-related cases came in a close third with 155 arrests. Thirty-seven of these were for possessing and/or selling ya bah (methamphetamine). A total of 586 ya bah pills were seized. Robbery and theft came next, with 38 cases reported and 33 arrests. A total of 26 people were apprehended for prostitution, while 10 were held for illegal possession of firearms. Thirteen cases of violent crime were reported. Of these, eight involved assault occasioning actual bodily harm, with seven people arrested; and two involved attempted murder, with one arrest. There was one rape and one murder, with arrests made in both cases. The remaining six arrests were for petty crimes such as glue-sniffing or driving a motorcycle with the exhaust removed.