Raided Hotel Provided Drugs, Sex, Gambling Exclusively to Chinese Guests

Police have raided a hotel in Nonthaburi province that was allegedly providing gambling, drugs, and sex services exclusively to its Chinese guests. The operation came after local residents complained that the establishment was catering solely to a Chinese clientele, according to Pol Lt Gen Nathasak Chaowanasai, chief of the Central Investigation Bureau (CIB), who spoke on Sunday. The hotel's name has not been disclosed. Pol Lt Gen Nathasak stated that Chinese individuals were observed entering and exiting the eight-storey hotel around the clock. Hotel staff reportedly turned away Thai visitors, claiming the establishment was fully occupied. The hotel's internal security was notable, with guest rooms located on the second to sixth floors. Access to these floors was controlled by key cards for the elevators, which only ascended to the sixth floor. The seventh and eighth floors housed party rooms and gambling dens, with entry from the sixth floor secured by locked doors. A significant portion of the hotel's staff were Chinese nationals residing on-site. Pol Maj Gen Pattanasak Bupphasuwan, commander of the Crime Suppression Division (CSD), detailed that the hotel's Chinese management arranged for staff to meet arriving Chinese guests at the airport and transport them to the hotel in private vans. The services offered included accommodation, gambling, parties, and sex. During the raid, police seized ketamine, a "happy water" drug cocktail, casino chips, dice, 110,000 baht in cash, and surveillance cameras. According to the CSD commander, approximately 40 individuals, including Chinese, Myanmar, and Shan nationals, were staying at the hotel. One arrested Chinese man, identified as Liu, 33, confessed to being hired to supply and sell drugs to guests. Three Myanmar workers were detained on immigration charges. The hotel, which contains 78 rooms, had previously been raided in 2023. On that occasion, immigration police arrested 49 Thai and Chinese gamblers. Following that incident, the hotel was closed, renovated, and subsequently reopened.