More than 180 foreigners have faced criminal charges in Phuket since the start of the year, with the top three offenders being nationals from Russia, France and the United Kingdom.

Phuket governor Narong Woonciew met consul-generals from 23 countries on Thursday to update them on cases involving foreigners on the island.

The 23 countries were Australia, Russia, China, Austria, the UK, Chile, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Italy, Kazakhstan, South Korea, Mexico, Nepal, the Netherlands, Sweden, Switzerland, Luxembourg, Spain and Hungary.

Phuket's free-crime measure has led to the arrest of many foreigners, for cases such as theft by Russians and Mongolians and French motorcycle gangs that have been disturbing local people.

Police also referred to a human trafficking case this month at a bar in Patong that reportedly saw minors procured to provide sexual services.

Phuket's immigration chief said that, as of now, there are about 32,000 foreigners staying on the island, mostly tourists and expats from Russia, followed by those from the UK, France, China and Germany.

Some 14,000 tourists are reportedly arriving at Phuket International Airport every day on average this month.

Since the beginning of the year, police have launched criminal cases against 181 foreigners. Myanmar and Cambodian migrant workers were also found to have committed offences.

Most foreigners were found to have broken the law in the Patong area, with their offences including driving while drunk, overstaying their visas, entering the country illegally and working without a valid visa.