PATTAYA, Thailand – Police and local administrative officers raided a pool villa in the Pong area of Banglamung, east of Pattaya, late on May 21 and arrested 18 people accused of operating and participating in an illegal gambling den centered around baccarat-style card games. The operation was led by Pol. Col. Nattapol Phongsuksakul, chief of Nongprue Police Station, together with Banglamung district officials and more than a dozen officers after authorities received complaints from residents about suspicious activity at the villa. Locals reported frequent gatherings of gamblers, constant vehicle traffic, and loud late-night activity resembling an underground casino.
When officers entered the property at around 11:06 p.m., they found gamblers actively playing cards around a professionally arranged baccarat table, with chips, playing cards, and gambling equipment spread across the room. Authorities arrested a total of 18 suspects, including 5 men and 13 women. Police also detained four Cambodian nationals alleged to have been working as dealers inside the operation.
Investigators said the gambling setup appeared highly organized, with casino-style equipment and rotating groups of gamblers allegedly moving between locations to avoid detection. Police revealed they had been monitoring the group’s activities for some time after receiving intelligence from an informant. Pol. Col. Nattapol said the operators were considered “professional” due to the scale and sophistication of the operation, adding that officers had tracked the movement of the gambling network before discovering it had relocated to the pool villa in Pong. All suspects and seized evidence, including gambling tables, chips, and cards, were handed over to investigators for legal proceedings.
