Pubs raided, illegal mushrooms found

Pubs raided, illegal mushrooms found

Police raided two nightclubs in the heart of Bangkok overnight and found illegal mushrooms, or <i>hed mao</i>, hidden underneath most of the tables at one, Deputy Interior Minister Visarn Techathirawat said on Monday morning.

Two teams of more than 120 officers raided Safe House pub on Ekkamai Road and Terminal by Pan pub on Ratchadapisek Road about 3am.

Mr Visarn said there had been many complaints from parents that their children were invited to birthday parties at their friends' homes and they continued to party at nightclubs later at night. 

"Some of them are old enough and we have to respect their decisions to party, but some others are still young and are tricked into drinking alcohol mixed with drugs and aphrodisiacs, and are at risk of being taken advantage of," Mr Visarn said.

He said many nighttime entertainment venues put up signs saying that they are open after 2am, which is illegal, and sell bottles of beer at 600 baht each. If young customers do not have the money to pay, the staff often physically hurt them, he said.

Some venues have illegal slot machines, he added.

Mr Visarn said Safe House pub is situated in a narrow alley, where many cars park, and has only one entrance. If there was a fire, fire engines would not be able to get to it and it could become another Santika tragedy, he warned.

At Terminal by Pan pub, more than 200 customers were present at the time of the raid. Officers found small bags of ketamine and Erimin-5 sleeping pills.

Illegal mushrooms, or drunk mushrooms, were also taped underneath most of the tables, along with smoking equipment.

Chatchawal Sangnil, manager of Safe House, and Prakit Khatha, manager of Terminal by Pan, both aged 36, were detained and charged with selling alcohol after the official closing time of 2am.

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