The Saudi tourist was taken into custody based on an outstanding warrant issued in Phuket at an undiscloded date. He was subsequently handed over to Patong Police, as reported by the Phuket office of the Immigration Bureau on Facebook.
The suspect was arrested at around 9am yesterday (Jan 19) at the International Arrivals Hall of Phuket airport, an off-limit area for anyone except authorised personnel and passengers arriving on international flights.
Prior to the arrest, three direct international flights from the Middle East had landed: EY430 from Abu Dhabi, QR842 from Doha, and WY833 from Muscat. Currently, there are no direct flights from Saudi Arabia to Phuket.
The suspect’s identity and the specific details of the arrest warrant were not disclosed. Phuket Immigration limited the information to the age of the wanted person, stating that the Saudi man is 41 years old.
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, just as the 61-years-old Russian man arrested on Jan 5 and an unnamed man arrested on May 20 last year on identical charges.
Police did not elabourate if either of the arrests had any connection to the Velvet Bar raid in Patong on Mar 15, 2023. The operation in Patong, conducted by the Department of Provincial Administration (DOPA) led to 36 raids by the Royal Thai Police in 10 provinces across Thailand.
Commenting on the case on Mar 30, 2023, Deputy National Police chief Gen Surachate "Big Joke" Hakparn revealed that Police identified over 100 customers who had paid for sex with minors in Patong and other tourist areas. Most of the suspects were foreigners, paying B10,000 a time, Gen Surachate said.
After the Mar 15 raid, five top-ranking officers at Patong Police Station, including Patong Police Chief Col Sujin Nilabadee, were transferred immediately pending further investigation into the child sex trafficking ring operating in the Patong Police area.
Seven months later, Col Sujin was appointed to the post of Deputy Commander of the Phang Nga Provincial Police while Patong Police Station marked as the “most moral” and “most transparent” police station in Phuket in the annual ‘Integrity and Transparency Assessment’ (ITA) conducted by the National Anti-Corruption Commission (NACC).