Showing posts with label Crackdown. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Crackdown. Show all posts

Saturday 19 November 2022

APEC 22: Immigration announce results of crackdown on foreign illegals ahead of international meet

#Thailand's Immigration Bureau - that last week along with tourist police mobilized 550 men - announced the result of a pre APEC 22 crackdown.

Results of the efforts on Thursday to Saturday last week were announced by IB chief Pol Lt-Gen Phakphoomphiphat Sajjaphan and other senior immigration police on Sunday.

A total of 785 foreigners on overstay were rounded up.

Some 1,249 people who illegally entered the kingdom were found.  

 Warnings and advice were issued to 2,723 foreigners about reporting their address in Bangkok.

587 people like landlords and owners of properties where migrants and foreigners stay were fined for not reporting under Article 38 of the IB code.

Thousands more were also refused entry.

 Thai Rath also reported further developments on the arrest of a Chinese national called Sao and his Thai driver Satawat, 36. He was driving his boss around as if he were a diplomat.

Two Chinese nationals named only as Lee, 27, and Hoo, 40, were arrested on Interpol Red Notices.

Jang, a Taiwanese was found using a Cambodian passport and following contact with the Taiwanese embassy he was found to be another person and was mixed up in call center fraud in the Philippines.
 

Source - Asian Now

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Tuesday 22 September 2020

Up to 150,000 foreigners in Thailand face jail for overstaying visas as govt ends Covid-19 grace period

 

Tens of thousands of foreign nationals in Thailand risk fines and even prison for failing to renew their visas. Bangkok has been lenient about expired visas due to the corona-virus crisis but announced it will start cracking down.

Foreigners in the country will have until September 26 to make sure their visas are up-to-date, a spokesperson for Thailand’s Immigration Bureau said. Overstaying a tourist visa in the country could result in jail time and a fine. Offenders are also deported back to their home countries. There are currently more than 150,000 foreigners staying in Thailand on tourist visas, the bureau said.

Countless foreign travelers were stranded in Thailand when the corona-virus pandemic hit in March. As the health crisis halted international flights and sealed borders, Bangkok said it would not take action against individuals with expired visas. But with things opening back up, the government has decided to resume normal enforcement of immigration laws. Those with expired visas will incur a daily fine for not coming forward, as authorities use registration databases to track down unwanted guests in the country.

The crackdown comes as Thailand moves to re-open its tourist industry. Last week the country’s cabinet approved visas of up to 270 days for long-stay tourists. The government hopes to attract visitors starting in October, but only people from countries that have contained the corona-virus outbreak will be welcome. Travelers will also be encouraged to fly directly to Thailand and will be required to undergo a two-week quarantine upon arrival. 

Source - Pattaya News

Friday 25 January 2019

#Thailand - Round ’em up, ship ’em out – another 500 foreigners arrested in crackdown


Authorities rounded up 503 foreigners for overstaying their visas, illegally entering Thailand and other crimes during simultaneous searches at 217 locations around the country early Friday.  

 Immigration Police Bureau deputy chief Pol Maj-General Itthipol Itthisarnronnachai says the raids are part of the government’s crackdown on transnational scammers, card skimmers and drug traffickers, as well as foreigners breaking immigration laws.

The searches took place at locations including four schools, 73 private firms and shops, six service establishments and 50 hotels and hostels, he said.4 Iranians,3 Lao, two Russians and an American, an Indian, a Chinese and a Mongolian were charged with overstaying their visas.

94 Lao, 86 Burmese, 68 Cambodians, 2 Vietnamese and an Indian and South Korean were charged with entering the country illegally.
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There was an additional 121 Thais, 50 Cambodians, 40 Burmese, 6 Lao, 6 Vietnamese, 3 Indians, 2 Filipinos, 2 Chinese, 2 Australians, 2 Russians and a Briton, a South Korean, a Greek and a German who were detained on numerous other charges.

He said 43 separate operations were included in the clampdown and resulted in the arrest of 6,971 foreigners.

Last year in October, following a deadline set by the Thai PM to seek out, arrest and deport overstayers and criminals, it was declared there were no more illegal foreigners living in Thailand.

Source - TheNation 

https://12go.asia/?z=581915

Monday 15 May 2017

Crackdown on illegal waterway structures ‘too harsh, conflicts with Thai way of life’

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A MARINE Department crackdown on illegal structures built over waterways across the country is too harsh and conflicts with the traditional Thai way of life, according to a leading figure in the fisheries business and an academic.

The department announced recently that all structures deemed illegal would be dismantled and removed, unless the owners obtain retrospective permission by June 22.

The move follows the passing of the latest edition of the Navigation in Thai Waters Act, which includes provision of jail terms of up to three years for offenders.

In cases where permission is granted, owners will have to pay fines at rates of between Bt1,000 and Bt20,000 per square metre. They will also have to pay annual rent based on the area covered.
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 If permission is refused, the |owners will be fined and ordered to demolish their structure. If they fail to comply with this, the Marine Department will remove the structure at the owner’s expense.
Thai Fisheries Association chairman Mongkol Sukchareonkana said such “fierce” law enforcement would have a great impact on the people across the country and harm the fisheries business. 
He said Thai culture and way of life have a strong bond with water, with many traditional houses and businesses built over the waterways.
“All kind of structures over the water will be considered illegal in the eyes of the Marine Department, such as the traditional houses built over the water, piers, fish cages, fishing equipment, or waterside walkways. Many of these structures are built over public land, so the owners cannot ask for permission from the Marine Department and will be forced to dismantle them,” Mongkol said.
“The impact will be so great that, at a minimum, the damage to the economy and people’s way of life will be over Bt10 billion in each province.”
He said that in Samut Songkram alone, thousands of houses in more than 200 canals would be deemed illegal. This includes the Amphawa Floating Market, which under this law will have to be removed too.
He stressed that enforcement of the law in this issue was too harsh and did not consider the way of life and culture of Thai people. He urged the department to reconsider how the law is enforced and extend the timeframe to one year.
“I agree that construction over the waterways must be regulated, but the law should not apply |retrospectively. 
The Marine Department should strictly enforce the law to prevent current encroachment on waterways,” he said.
Marine Department director-general Sorasak Saensombat said the legislation had been in effect for a long time, but currently the government had a policy to strictly enforce the measure.
Sorasak said that if the department found violations of the act, courts could order the owners to pay retrospective fines covering six years from when the crime was discovered. 
A jail term of up to three years had been included in the new version of the law. However, Sorasak stressed that the department would not |prosecute all those in violation of |the Navigation in Thai Waters Act, as there were not enough officers to enforce it. 
It would focus on structures that have a great impact on navigation and people’s movement.
“We have to consider the public benefit first and everyone has to comply with the law. 
If people suffer difficulties from enforcement of this law, there are related agencies that ready to assist them. There are many solutions to the problems from implementation of this law,” he said.
Chulalongkorn University Urban and Regional Planning Department lecturer Nattapong Punnoi said that while he agreed that management of waterfront areas and structures over waterways was important, implementation of the policy should not be the same across the country.
“The restriction of structures over waterways is necessary in an urban area such as Bangkok, so as to improve the environment and prevent floods. But in rural areas, where people still have a strong bond with the river, they should be allowed to keep their traditional way of life on the water,” Nattapong said. He said the government should have a plan to assist people who have to move away from their homes on the water and provide them with proper housing. 
He also cautioned that it would be unacceptable if the government used the reclaimed areas on the water to build new structures that do not fit with good urban planning, such as roads or promenades.
Sorasak said that all structures over waterways including the Chao Phraya Riverside promenade would have to ask the department for |permission first, as official agencies also have to comply with this law.
Source - TheNation

Friday 12 May 2017

#Philippines - Duterte seeks drug-free Asean

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Unperturbed by global criticism of his brutal war on drugs, President Duterte on Thursday called for an “integrated, drug-free Asean community” as his Cabinet officials sought to ease fears that the crackdown on narcotics had made the Philippines a dangerous country.

Addressing the World Economic Forum on Asean here, Mr. Duterte, this year’s chair of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean), focused on how the regional bloc could achieve inclusive growth and economic integration.
As in most of his speeches, Mr. Duterte called attention to the “scourge of illegal drugs that threatens our youth and the future of our societies.”
Then he called for commitment to make Southeast Asia a drug-free region.
“We need to take a committed stand to dismantle and destroy the illegal drug trade apparatus,” he said, emphasizing the need to keep the youth away from drugs. “We must reaffirm our commitment to realize a drug-free Asean community.”
Earlier on Thursday, however, Mr. Duterte’s Cabinet officials found themselves answering questions from journalists about the killings of  thousands of people in his war on drugs and whether the crackdown had scared away foreign investments.
The forum came four days after 45 of the 47 member states of the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) demanded an end to extrajudicial killings in Mr. Duterte’s war on drugs during a review of the Philippines’ human rights record in Geneva.
Many of the council members sought an international investigation of the killings.
The Cabinet officials who attended the briefing on Dutertenomics—or the administration’s Build, Build, Build program— were Transportation Secretary Arthur Tugade, Public Works Secretary Mark Villar, Presidential  Communications Secretary Martin Andanar, Trade Secretary Ramon Lopez, Energy Secretary Alfonso Cusi, Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Ernesto Pernia, incoming Foreign Secretary Alan Peter Cayetano, presidential spokesperson Ernesto Abella and Bases Conversion and Development Authority president Vince Dizon.
War on drugs
After their brief presentation on how the Duterte administration planned to achieve a high middle-income status for the Philippines in the next six years, a German journalist asked them  how the war on drugs “might lead to lesser foreign direct investments.”
Frederic Spohr, a Thailand-based correspondent for the German newspaper Handelsblatt, said German businessmen were worried about the war on drugs and the rule of law in the Philippines.
Spohr later told the Inquirer that he had written a report  about how chambers of commerce in Germany cautioned businessmen about investing in the Philippines because of the perception of instability.
Repeating his remarks in the UNHRC review in Geneva on Monday, Cayetano gave assurance that “the protection of human rights is paramount” for the Philippine government and that “the campaign against drugs is a campaign to protect the human rights” of the Filipinos.
He accused the international media of not showing the full picture in their reports on Mr. Duterte’s war on drugs.
“They only show the rhetoric of the President when he is mad at certain criticisms against the Philippines,” Cayetano said. “They don’t show the statements where he says, ‘Police cannot abuse and that they are worse than criminality.’”
He said only close to 3,000 people had been killed in drug-related police operations and that the higher numbers reported by the media referred to “homicides.”
“For those of you who are hearing that there are 7,000 deaths in the Philippines, that’s not true,” he said.
Come to the Philippines
Cayetano invited the foreign journalists to visit the Philippines to see things for themselves.
Lopez claimed that the crackdown on narcotics had resulted in a sense of safety in Philippine communities.
He also claimed that business and consumer confidence had gone up.
Moderator Adrian Monck asked the Philippine officials about how Mr. Duterte had been “incredibly outspoken” and how such “rhetoric” had drawn support from some investors but also resulted in the “alienation” of others.
Cusi responded, but did not answer the question directly, instead saying that the Philippines was “a nation  in a hurry to improve the lives of Filipinos.”
Lopez said the Duterte administration was not focusing on drugs.
“That’s why we are having Dutertenomics,” he said. “Peace and order has to be the basic foundation.”
Pernia said Dutertenomics was about “building fast, on schedule and getting things done quickly because the President is impatient and so are the ministers.”
$160-B investment needed
The Philippine officials said an investment of $160 billion would enable the Philippines to achieve a high middle income status by the end of Mr. Duterte’s term.
They said the Philippines could eliminate poverty and become one of the 30 largest economies in the world “within a generation.”
The World Bank considers the Philippines a lower middle income country.
“We expect clarity on the part of the international community to banish misconceptions,” Pernia told the Inquirer later.
Asked how the briefing for investors went, he said, “Nothing is perfect and no briefing or examination is perfect.”
Source - TheNation

Tuesday 22 December 2015

Thailand - Police nab 110 foreigners in overstay, criminal cases


THE Immigration Police Bureau yesterday announced cases of foreigners caught for overstaying their visas and committing crimes.

Thai Immigration police paraded a group of offenders yesterday at a press conference as they announced they had arrested 50 Pakistani nationals, 15 Indians, eight Somalis, three Nigerians, three from Papua New Guinea, three Vietnamese, a Mali national, a Bangladeshi national, a Sri Lankan national and twenty-three other nationals.

Measures to clamp down on foreigners who overstay their visa will go into effect in March.
Those who overstay for more than a year will be barred from the country for three years, while those who overstay for more than five years will be banned for 10 years.

Authorities have encouraged offenders to turn themselves in and avoid heavier penalties.
Immigration Bureau chief Pol Lt-General Natthorn Praosunthorn said the measures were taken to increase security in Thailand, claiming many foreigners who overstay are likely to have also committed crimes.


He cited the case of American boxer Malik Naeem Watson-Smith, who once fought Thai boxer "Buakaw," and was caught overstaying his visa on 14 Dec. He had been charged with assault in 2010.
Russian Eveniy Gubarev, 37, was arrested on Dec. 17 for overstaying his visa and is wanted on charges of fraud and laundering money, while an unnamed 47-year-old Belgian was arrested on Sunday for overstaying by 305 days.

In a separate case, a French man overstaying his visa was arrested on Dec. 11 and charged with attempted murder, detention, and robbery in relation to trafficking drugs, The Nation reported.


  Eveniy Gubarev, 37, a Russian national, was arrested on December 17 for overstaying, and is also wanted on charges of fraud and laundering money.

An unnamed 47-year-old Belgian was arrested on December 20 for overstaying by 305 days. He arrived on January 20 and was allowed to stay until February 18.

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Source: Coconuts & The Nation 

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Tuesday 15 September 2015

Thai Immigration launches 'new' crackdown on visa runners


Understands that Immigration officials at land border crossings will no longer allow foreigners to complete an ‘Out/In’ visa run.

Reports of a ‘crackdown’ on border runners along the Thai/Cambodian border first started surfacing over the weekend when several Thaivisa members posted about not being allowed to re-enter Thailand on visa-exempt entries.

On Monday evening, Thaivisa spoke to an Immigration officer based at Chaeng Wattana who confirmed that renewals of 15/30 day visa exempt entries are not allowed.

The source, who did not want to be named, also said that this apparent ‘crackdown’ is actually nothing new and stressed that foreigners are not permitted to stay in Thailand on renewed 15/30 day visa-exempt entries.

Instead, any foreigner wishing to stay in Thailand beyond 30 days should ensure they have the correct documentation, such as a valid tourist visa, Non-Immigration or extension of stay based on marriage, work, education, retirement etc.

This latest news does not affect those people with valid tourist visas or those who are on multiple entry Non-O, Non-B.

This ‘crackdown’ only applies to those people who stay in Thailand on visa exempt entries, without valid visas, and therefore have to complete a border run every 15 or 30 days.

Thaivisa understands that because Thailand is currently in a state of heightened security following the Bangkok bombings, government officials have informed all Immigration offices and border checkpoints nationwide to carry out rigorous checks on foreigners trying to enter the Kingdom and ensure that all foreigners do so with the correct visa documentation.

Foreigners entering Thailand can also be expected to provide information on where they will be staying in the Kingdom, as well as items such as a valid travel itinerary, if requested to do so by Immigration officials.

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 “The order is not new. Originally, officers were authorised to consider giving permits. But in this current situation of heightened security, all officers have to step up restrictions,” said an official at the Immigration Bureau.

Many foreigners regularly go on visa runs to Cambodia and return through the Sa Kaeo immigration checkpoint, he said.

“Some foreigners do not even go themselves, but get illegal networks to obtain the entry stamp for them,” the source said, adding that the government has cracked down on the border-run syndicates, prompting them to change tactics.

Now the networks provide a one-day tour for foreigners to the Cambodian town of Poi Pet, so they can re-enter Thailand afterwards with permission to stay for another 15-30 days.

Law enforcement on these types of activities will intensify, said the source. From now on, foreigners who are re-entering Thailand will be screened rigorously.

They will need to provide information about their accommodation, tour company or other details to confirm they are in the country to travel as tourists.

The measure is likely to block scores of foreigners from re-entering Thailand through Sa Kaeo. Those wishing to enter Thailand from Cambodia will have to go to Phnom Penh to apply for a visa at the Thai embassy.

The police investigation into the bomb blasts at Erawan shrine on August 17 and the Sathon pier on August 18 discovered immigration police were bribed by an illegal network linked to the perpetrators.

The issue prompted national police chief Pol Gen Somyot Poompunmuang to call a meeting with the heads of immigration checkpoints on Sept 7, and was followed by a reshuffle in immigration police staff.

“The immigration police are coming under intense scrutiny,” said another high-ranking official at the bureau.

Some army-backed officers were moved to head up the checkpoints in the recent reshuffle.

Pol Gen Somyot is now wrestling to oust bureau commissioner Pol Lt Gen Sakda Chuenpakdee, who allegedly failed to follow the government order to transfer officers linked to Rohingya traffickers out of his jurisdiction.

Pol Gen Somyot also handed out a report exposing the unlawful practices of immigration police under the command of Pol Gen Sakda, such as allegedly accepting B300-500 bribes from foreigners cutting the queue to apply for visas at Suvarnabhumi airport, the source said.

The practice is said to make about B2 million in profit for the immigration police every day.

“Pol Gen Somyot aims to destroy the treasure trove plundered by the bureau,” the source said.


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Monday 8 December 2014

Reports emerging of police drug testing scam in Bangkok




Reports are emerging that the police in Bangkok have been harassing tourists on what is claimed to be a crackdown on illegal drug use.

Visitors and tourists have reported being regularly stopped, searched, interrogated and asked to provide urine samples that if found to test positive for drugs can lead to lengthy fines and prison sentences. Apparently these tests have a 10% margin of accuracy leading to fears that many drug tests have returned back positive when those tested have not taken any drugs.

Random tests in the country are not unusual however in tourist areas it seems the random tests are in the up. Visitor Reese Walker told the Bangkok post in November that she and her fiancĂ© were stopped twice by the police in only two days. The report says that they were searched, interrogated and required to provide samples of urine. According to her report they were doing nothing out of the ordinary when the tests were ordered. In her letter to the editor she said “This is our first and last visit to Thailand, the harassment of tourists is unacceptable, we don’t be recommending other people to visit Thailand based on our two frightening incidents that we believe to be racial profiling.

Critics of the police say that these activities are not intended to reduce crime, but are a means to elicit bribe money from unsuspecting and often terrified tourists. Since the harassment is primarily a means of extortion, even those who are not in possession of drugs and have not tested positive for illegal drug use are in danger. Incriminating evidence can be planted and urine samples can test as positive due to the use of a contaminated container, for example.

Source:  Samui Times

Saturday 23 August 2014

Coup leader calls for Immigration to relax ‘out-in’ visa clampdown.

Thailand’s coup leader and prime minister-in-waiting, Gen Prayuth Chan-Ocha last night (August 22) called for the Immigration crackdown on “out-in” tourist visas to be rolled back.

 
 During his weekly TV briefing to the nation, aired on all channels, the general said he had ordered the Immigration Police to be “more flexible” in its application of the law.

Immigration recently cracked down on the number of times a foreigner may cross the border into a neighboring country, turn around and re-enter the country on a new tourist visa.

Many of the people doing multiple out-in tourist visas were believed to be working in the country illegally, often as teachers or tour guides.

According to the English subtitles of his speech, the general said he was concerned that the clampdown – whereby people doing out-in visas are required to prove they are genuine tourists, or be barred from entry – was affecting schools and the tourist industry.

“This is an ongoing problem that needs to be resolved, as it can lead to a shortage of English teachers and guides,” he said.

The statement will shock many in the bureaucracy, on several levels. First, it is illegal to work while in Thailand on a tourist visa. Second, people working illegally pay no tax. And third, foreigners may not be guides in Thailand; that is a profession reserved for Thais only.

The crackdown was launched by the then-national commander of Thai Immigration, Lt Gen Pharnu Kerdlarpphon, who told The Phuket News on May 13, just nine days before the coup, that multiple out-in visa runs would no longer be tolerated. He has since been sidelined.

The question of foreigners working as tour guides has long been a troubled one. Although Thais alone may be tour guides, there are very few Thai guides who speak, for example, Korean or Russian, for which there is great demand. This fuels the number of people working illegally.

Even if Immigration now turn a blind eye to out-in visa runners, it will not solve the problems of unqualified foreigners teaching languages or foreign guides knowing nothing about the island’s history and making it up as they go along, leaving the tourists they instruct with a twisted understanding of Thai culture and history.

Thousands of foreigners in Phuket will be watching this issue with great interest.

Source:  Phuketnews
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