Phuket police monitor 26 people linked to influential figures and hired gunmen
Authorities said 26 people are under surveillance in Phuket, while thousands of companies are considered at risk of operating as nominee businesses.
The Phuket Provincial Police Centre for the Suppression of Influential Figures and Hired Gunmen said 26 people were being monitored in Phuket, including individuals linked to influential groups, land and environmental offences, and drug cases.
The centre reported on 7 August that 14 of those monitored were linked to groups of influential figures and hired gunmen. Two were accused of offences involving encroachment on public land or damage to natural resources and the environment, while another 10 were involved in drug-related cases. Authorities said the individuals and groups remained under surveillance and that legal action would be taken where offences were identified.
The information was presented at Phuket Provincial Hall during a meeting of the House Committee on Political Development, Mass Media and Public Participation. The committee, chaired by People's Party MP Pukkamon Nunarnan, was visiting Phuket to review law enforcement and efforts to address influential figures, alleged bribery and other concerns.
Officials also told the committee that more than 6,000 companies in Phuket were considered at risk of operating as nominee businesses, while about 300 companies were listed in the National Police Office database as subject to legal proceedings. Phuket MPs Somchart Techathaworncharoen, Chalermpong Saengdee and Orathai Kerdsub raised concerns about land ownership, nominee businesses, alleged bribery involving entertainment venues and hotels, migrant workers, and migrant workers' access to public healthcare at government hospitals.
According to information presented at the meeting, Phuket has about 1.5 million transient residents and receives more than 14 million visitors a year, making supervision and law enforcement more challenging.
In enforcement against public-land encroachment, authorities had prosecuted 24 cases, arrested 17 suspects and filed complaints in 14 cases as of 5 August. They had seized 57 rai, 28 square wah and 16 square metres of allegedly encroached land, along with two firearms and ammunition.
Drug suppression operations had resulted in 30 prosecuted cases involving 36 suspects. Authorities seized 7,557 methamphetamine tablets, 280.74 grammes of crystal methamphetamine and five firearms.
The committee said it would compile information and recommendations from government agencies and other sectors in Phuket for consideration at the policy and legislative levels.
