Three Thais were also held for other offences.
The raids targeted locations in Bangkok and other provinces frequented by foreigners – 30 schools (two international schools, four language schools, 24 secondary schools) and 53 other places.
A total of 110 people were detained, three of them Thais, said Maj Gen Surachet Hakpan, deputy commissioner of the Tourist Police Bureau.
Eleven of the suspects (five from Myanmar, one each from Vietnam, Cambodia, Nigeria, Russia, Germany and England) were charged with overstaying their visas, and 92 (59 from Myanmar, 11 from Laos, nine from Cambodia, five from India, three from Vietnam, one each from Malaysia, China, Nigeria, the United States and Sweden) were charged with illegal entry.
The seven others (three from Thailand, two from Myanmar and one each from the Philippines and India) were charged with other offences, Maj Gen Surachet said.
The raids were the 15th phase of the on-going crackdown, dubbed “X-Ray Outlaw Foreigner”, targeting foreign who entered the country to commit transnational crime and other crime that affects national security and Thailand’s tourist image – such as romance scammers, credit card fraud and trading in illicit drugs.
The operations also target foreigners overstaying their visas.
Officers from the Narcotics Suppression Bureau, the Patrol and Special Operation Division, the Tourist Police Bureau, the Central Investigation Bureau, the Immigration Office and Bang Rak Police Station were involved in the raids, Maj Gen Surachet said.
To date, a total of 1,517 foreign suspects have been caught at 3,799 locations across the country.
Maj Gen Surachet said the problem of foreigners entering the country illegally and overstaying their visas has gradually improved.
He asked operators of restaurants and other businesses in tourist attractions to alert authorities if they notice foreigners overstaying their visas or committing offences. They can call the tourist police Hotline 1155 around the clock.
Read original story here.