Pattaya City has launched an operation to purge the popular tourist destination of beggars, during which authorities found a number of foreigners who have been living in the country illegally.
Pattaya's deputy mayor, Wutthisak Ruemkijjakarn, said the raids were carried out on Wednesday evening under the supervision of the Chon Buri's Social Development and Human Security Office, Pattaya Police, Provincial Police Region 2 and the Immigration Bureau.
Along Pattaya Walking Street, two beggars were arrested, Mr Wutthisak said, who noted that the number of beggars in the city had increased significantly in recent months.
On Soi Buakhao, authorities found a 42-year-old Vietnamese woman along with a seven-year-old girl selling flowers to tourists. She told officers that she had been selling flowers in the area for about five months, earning about 300-500 baht each evening.
Around South Pattaya, authorities also apprehended beggars who were loitering along the beach, asking tourists for money. They also found a 34-year-old homeless Cambodian woman with her five-month-old daughter in front of Wat Chai Mongkhon.
On June 10, Pattaya police chief Pol Col Thanapong Pothi led a raid to arrest people who exploited children by having them beg and/or sell products around Pattaya.
They found a Cambodian woman, 33, living with three children in a single-room apartment. She told officers that she had entered Thailand through a natural border crossing to find a job.
She was charged with child exploitation and illegal entry.