Last night, the Thai police announced they had arrested 75 “dark-skinned foreigners” from across Thailand who had overstayed their visa and were working illegally in the kingdom.
Police announced the arrests of the “outlaw foreigners” at a major press conference held just outside of Soi Cowboy, an infamous red-light district in Bangkok (one report suggested it was because a police raid on foreigners took place there that same day).
A number of different police units attended the conference, including the Tourist Police, Narcotics Suppression Bureau, SWAT, Immigration Police and the Thonglor Police.
“We have arrested a group of dark-skinned people who overstayed their visas in Thailand. They committed crimes such as call center scams,” Pol.Maj. Gen. Surachet Hakpan, a deputy commander of the Tourist Police, told reporters.
Among those arrested, 38 were charged with illegally entering Thailand, 34 were charged for overstaying and three worked without a permit.
Many of those arrested come from African countries: Nigeria, Uganda, Sudan, Rwanda, Tanzania. The rest are from Myanmar, Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam, Philippines, India, Nepal, Bangladesh, Uzbekistan, Pakistan, and Canada.
Authorities said the roundup of undocumented foreigners was part of a government policy to prevent more foreigners from commiting crimes in Thailand related to drugs, counterfeit money, and romance scams.
Earlier this month, police also raided apartments and hotels on Sukhumvit Soi 4 (where the famed Nana Plaza is located) and arrested 10 foreigners from African countries and India who had overstayed as part of what they dubbed “Operation Black Eagle”, which are held regularly and specifically target “dark-skinned foreigners”.
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