CHACHOENGSAO, Thailand – Deputy Interior Minister Polapee Suwunchwee led a late-night raid on an alleged illegal nightclub in central Chachoengsao, uncovering 39 customers under the age of 20 and 32 people who tested positive for drugs. The operation, dubbed “Baramee Sothorn,” was carried out at around 1:30 a.m. on August 8 at 90’s Bar & Restaurant in the Songchai Charoensap Market on Thepkhunakorn Road, Muang district. Polapee led a special operations team from the Department of Provincial Administration, working with provincial and district officials, following complaints about the venue allegedly operating without a proper entertainment venue licence, selling alcohol beyond permitted hours, allowing underage customers inside and failing to prevent drug use.
Officials said the two-storey venue featured a large hall, a live music stage, several service areas and six VIP rooms upstairs. Investigators found that the venue sold food, drinks and alcohol and provided live entertainment, dancing and other activities that placed it within the legal definition of an entertainment venue. The venue reportedly had four to six security guards at the entrance but did not check customers’ identification cards or search them for weapons.
Undercover officers also documented alcohol being sold after the permitted hours. At around 12:32 a.m., an undercover officer ordered alcoholic drinks and paid through a banking application, with the money transferred to an account believed to be connected to the venue owner. During surveillance, officers noticed several customers repeatedly entering and leaving the same bathroom. A subsequent inspection found plastic straws believed to have been used to handle drugs and a white powder-like substance on the bathroom floor. The material was being sent for further examination. Authorities also observed people believed to be under 20 entering the venue and ordering alcoholic drinks.
A total of 194 customers and employees were checked during the operation. Officials found 39 customers under the age of 20, including 14 males and 25 females. Three of the youngest customers were aged just 15 and 16. Drug screening found 32 people with positive results, including seven people under 20 — three males and four females. Officers also found suspected drugs discarded on the floor inside the venue. The venue was found to have no license to operate as an entertainment venue, despite its activities meeting the legal definition of one.
Officials arrested the venue manager and handed him over to investigators to face seven charges, including operating an entertainment venue without permission, selling alcohol beyond permitted hours, selling alcohol to people under 20, encouraging children to engage in inappropriate conduct, illegal alcohol promotion, operating a food establishment without permission and carrying out unauthorized building modifications.
Authorities said the venue’s alleged failure to prevent drug-related offences could also constitute a violation of an order issued under NCPO Order No. 22/2015. Provincial authorities are expected to consider ordering the venue closed for five years. The raid was conducted under the Interior Ministry’s “Mahadthai Tham Thanthi Action 5 PLUS” policy, promoted by Prime Minister and Interior Minister Anutin Charnvirakul, targeting illegal entertainment venues, drugs and other threats to public safety.
