The arrest was announced today (Jan 6) in a publication posted just before noon on the Phuket Immigration Checkpoint page on Facebook. The page covers the actions of Immigration Bureau officers stationed at Phuket International Airport.
The arrest was conducted at around 10pm yesterday (Jan 5) at the International Arrivals Hall, an off-limit area for anyone except authorised personnel and passengers arriving on international flights.
The suspect’s identity and the number of the arrest warrant were not revealed. Phuket Immigration limited the information to the age of the wanted person. The Russian man is 63 years old, according to the officials.
The Phuket office of the Immigration Bureau provided the following description of the charges against the suspect: "taking away a minor over 15 years but not yet over 18 years of age from the parent, guardian, or caretaker for obscene actions, even with the consent of the minor, and taking away a minor over 15 years but not yet over 18 years of age from the parent, guardian, or caretaker for indecent actions, even with the consent of the minor."
These charges fall under Section 319 of the Criminal Code, commonly known as "child sex trafficking." The man was reported as taken to Patong Police Station for further legal processing.
Patong in nationwide sex trafficking network
On Mar 15, the Department of Provincial Administration (DOPA) raided Velvet Bar on Soi Sea Dragon in Patong which had been offering underage girls as prostitutes to foreign customers. Police began a full-scale investigation overseen by Deputy Commander of the Royal Thai Police Gen Surchate Hakparn.
On Mar 18, Gen Surchate Hakparn, visited Phuket and announced that the Velvet Bar raid had exposed a nationwide child sex trafficking network operating in other tourist areas of the country. According to Gen Surchate’s statement, by Mar 18, the police had already identified three key leaders of the criminal network.
On Mar 30, Gen Surchate returned to Phuket to announce that his officers had arrested three foreigners for purchasing underage Thai girls for sex, while three other suspects wanted for the same offense had already fled the country.
Arrest warrants had been issued for those three and police had identified 109 other customers who had paid for sex with minors, Gen Surachate added on Mar 30.
Ronnie Peterhitch, believed to be the leader of the child sex trafficking network that included Velvet, Model, Bangla Beach, and Strip Phuket Bars in Patong, had also left the country and remained at large as of Mar 30.
Five senior officers at Patong Police Station, including Patong Police Chief Col Sujin Nilabadee, were removed from duty after the Velvet Bar raid in March.
In November, Patong Police Chief Col Sujin Nilabodi was promoted to the post of Deputy Commander of the Phang Nga Provincial Police.
On May 20, an unnamed foreign suspect was arrested at Phuket airport on charges of child sex trafficking. The warrant for his arrst was issued just eight days after the raid at Velvet Bar in Patong, though Phuket Immigration didn’t confirm if the May 20 arrest was linked to the high-profile investigation.