Brit caught in ‘human trafficking’ raid at ‘Flirt’ bar in seedy Thai resort of Pattaya as dozens of women loaded into police van
- Cops raided the ‘Flirt’ bar on the area’s notorious Soi 6 on April 5th
- The footage shows dozens of young women being led away from the bar
A British citizen and a Thai woman have been arrested on suspicion of human trafficking in the infamous Thai resort of Sin City in Pattaya.
Cops raided the ‘Flirt’ bar on the area’s notorious Soi 6 – which is packed with dozens of sex bars – next to the beach around 9pm on April 5.
Footage from the raid shows dozens of young women being herded into a police van and taken to the local station for questioning.
Englishman William Rees and local woman Garania Debeber, 31, were taken into custody by police chiefs. The Briton was seen being led to the police station in what appeared to be handcuffs.
Officers said arrest warrants were issued against the British man on April 4 for conspiracy to commit human trafficking.
A British citizen and a Thai woman have been arrested on suspicion of human trafficking in Thai “Sin City” Pattaya. Englishman William Rees and local woman Garania Debeber, 31, were taken into custody by police chiefs. The Briton was seen being led to the police station in what appeared to be handcuffs (pictured)
Cops raided the “Flirt” bar on the area’s notorious Soi 6 – which is packed with dozens of sex bars – next to the beach around 9pm on April 5. Pictured: Police officers are seen at the bar
The charges concern young women who are transported from poor areas in the rural north-east of the country to serve tourists in the sex industry, for which they charge around 1,500 baht (£35) for sex.
Police Colonel Thanapong Phuthi, superintendent of Pattaya City Police Station, said: ‘We carried out the arrest to build confidence in Pattaya’s image among tourists. We have invited store employees to give their statement at the station.
The accused were taken into police custody pending further legal action.
The police said that they raided the store but did not find any illegal items.
All those working inside were over the age of 18, the legal age for prostitution in the country.
The bar is believed to be owned by the ‘Nightwish Group’, which is believed to be run by an ex-British.
A website connected to the group says it was founded in 2012 with a single bar, and has since grown into a company that employs more than 500 people, with 27 bars.
The high-ranking military officers of Bangkok have been trying for several years to clean up Pattaya, which has been dubbed the “sex capital” of the world.
Pictured: A young woman holds a group of shots in a photo on the bar’s Instagram page
Pictured: Police officers are seen searching the pub during the April 5 raid
Footage from the raid shows dozens of young women being herded into a police van and taken to the local station for questioning. Pictured: A police officer speaks to women inside the bar as it is broken into on April 5
They struggle to kick out the bad-guy Brits and Australians, and turn the area into a family-friendly resort to tap into the lucrative family markets of China, India and Russia.
However, they face an uphill struggle against the entrenched 24-hour sex industry and the rampant corruption that allows it to continue unabated.
Pubs – many of which are run by former British patrons and serve as window shops for prostitutes – along with massage parlors and street workers are also a profitable part of the tourism industry.
Before the pandemic, the industry accounted for 21 percent of Thailand’s annual GDP, generating 1.8 trillion baht (US$52.3 billion) in revenue.
