Disappointing start to Tourist Police raids

PATONG: The Phuket Tourist Police, under their new inspector, Pol Lt Col Supawat Sookjaroen, have launched a series of raids that will continue until January 15, and which will be aimed at reducing crimes against tourists. Lt Col Supawat was a “little disappointed” by the results of the initial raids on Tuesday, he told the Gazette. “We expected to catch more entertainment venues – the ones that usually stay open after the 3 am closing time. Surprisingly, they all closed on time. “I think this was maybe because they were tipped off by some ‘people’ who did not want the police to catch them,” he said. The 35 officers involved in the crackdown did, however, net three vendors for irritating tourists, and four illegal immigrants from Nepal.