122 drug users found in Bangkok pub raid

Sonic Club Bangkok, a pub in Lat Phrao district. A total of 122 pubgoers tested positive for drugs, and the venue faces a five-year closure. (Photo: Department of Provincial Administration)
Sonic Club Bangkok, a pub in Lat Phrao district. A total of 122 pubgoers tested positive for drugs, and the venue faces a five-year closure. (Photo: Department of Provincial Administration)

A total of 122 clubgoers tested positive for drugs after a raid on a pub in Bangkok's Lat Phrao district early on Sunday.

The 2.20am raid on Sonic Club Bangkok on Praditmanutham Road followed an investigation which found the pub was a hub for drug users and a drug distribution point.

At the time of the raid, 214 customers were inside the pub. They attempted to flee but officers blocked all the exits. One customer was under 20 years of age and seven were not carrying a national ID card.

In urine tests, 122 of them - 76 men and 46 women - were found to have used drugs.

Sonic Club Bangkok was operating without a permit and drug use was rampant inside, a government spokesperson said. During the raid, the authorities found numerous sachets of various kinds of drugs including ecstasy, ketamine and methamphetamine pills scattered on the floor. Happy water, a new kind of drug, was also available in the pub.

The pub owner and those who were involved in its operation were arrested and charged with operating the business without a permit, selling alcoholic drinks to youngsters under 20 years of age, selling alcohol beyond the time limit and allowing use of drugs.

The authorities would recommend closing the pub for five years.

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Vocabulary

  • distribution: the process of giving something out to many different places - การแจกจ่าย
  • flee (past form: fled) (verb): to leave a place or person quickly because you are afraid of possible danger or consequences - หนี
  • hub: the central and most important part of a particular place or activity - จุดศูนย์กลาง, จุดรวม
  • investigation: the process of trying to find out all the details or facts about something - การสอบสวน
  • permit: an official document that gives you permission to do something - ใบอนุญาต
  • raid (noun): using force or legal authority to enter a place suddenly in order to arrest people or search for something such as illegal weapons or drugs - การเข้าตรวจค้น
  • rampant: existing, happening or spreading in an uncontrolled way - รุกลาม อาละวาด กำเริบ รุนแรงจนควบคุมไว้ไม่ได้
  • sachet: a very small plastic bag -
  • urine: liquid waste passed from your body - น้ำปัสสาวะ
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