About 150 Thai and foreign customers were arrested at a pub operating after hours in a street off Sukhumvit Road in Bangkok’s Watthana district in the early hours of Thursday.
The Insanity nightclub on Soi Sukhumvit 11 in Klong Toey Nua area was raided about 3am by officials from the Department of Provincial Administration’s law enforcement operations centre, aided by territorial defence volunteers.
About 150 people were inside, most of them dancing to music.
There was no social distancing to prevent the spread of Covid-19, said Ronnarong Thipsiri, director of the DPA centre, who led the raid.
Most of the people were not wearing face masks. All of them tried to leave when officials arrived; all were caught.
Some discarded drugs were found on the floor and in the bathrooms, he said.
There was also baraku tobacco, or shisha, and many hookahs for smoking it, according the centre's Facebook page.
All patrons, men and women, were made to give urine samples for testing. Some tested positive for illicit drugs, according to the centre. Thai media reported three patrons tested positive. (continues below)
Pub customers line up with their ID cards ready, during the raid on the Insanity nightclub early Thursday morning. ( Photo: DPA Facebook page)
The raid followed complaints from local residents that the pub stayed open beyond legal hours every night. They feared it might be a place where coronavirus disease was being spread.
Mr Ronnarong said investigators discovered the nightclub was operating without a permit, sold alcoholic drinks after hours, and stayed open to around 4am every night. Management also failed to enforce Covid-19 prevention measures.
The pub operator would face criminal action for violating an order issued by the National Council for Peace and Order. The nightclub also faced closure for five years, Mr Ronnarong said.
The Metropolitan Police Bureau has set up a fact-finding panel to investigate the pub being allowed to operate beyond legal hours and the presence of drugs, MPB deputy chief Pol Maj Gen Piya Tawichai said.
Asked whether local police would face transfers, he said the panel would look into whether they had demanded money or been negligent in their duty.
An official examines a hookah pipe used for smoking baraku tobacco, or shisha, after the raid on the Insanity nightclub off Sukhumvit Road in Bangkok on Thursday morning. (Photo: DPA Facebook page)