PATTAYA, Thailand – Police are moving to dismantle Pattaya–Chonburi’s powerful illegal e-cigarette and shisha network after arresting two suspected Chinese kingpins, in what authorities describe as the most significant blow to the operation this year.
Chonburi investigators, working with Region 2 police, raided a house in Nattawat Home Village after a months-long surveillance operation. Officers seized more than 40 categories of equipment and liquids worth over 30 million baht and arrested Yao Qinglin, 41, and Zhao Let, 37, both Chinese nationals believed to be the main suppliers for nightlife operators across the province.
Police sources say the investigation was launched in response to growing public criticism that law enforcement had failed to reach the masterminds behind the trade, despite nearly daily arrests of small-time sellers. After deploying undercover teams and wire informants, investigators traced the supply chain back to the two Chinese suspects.
But officers say the operation is far from over.
According to police, Thai nightlife operators — as well as so-called “grey Thai” facilitators — played a critical role in keeping the illegal market alive through a sophisticated protection-fee system. Bars and clubs in Pattaya and surrounding districts allegedly paid substantial monthly kickbacks to ensure they could offer shisha to customers, generating at least 10 million baht a month in illicit revenue.
The November 13 raid effectively cut a major financial artery in the protection network, police say. Investigators are now preparing to move against local Thai figures believed to be involved in collecting and distributing the fees.
Senior officers have ordered an expanded probe to ensure “every remaining link” in the Pattaya–Chonburi shisha trade is identified and prosecuted. Evidence gathering is now underway to target domestic collaborators who, police claim, allowed the illegal industry to flourish for years.
Authorities say the goal is clear: eliminate the network completely — foreign and Thai alike.
