PHUKET: A Russian man was arrested for working as illegally as a tour guide in Thalang district of this resort island province on Friday.
Tourist police arrested Iakhia Guseinzade, 28, at a pier on Pak Phra beach in tambon Mai Khao around 8am on Friday. He was about to take some tourists to the Similan islands when he was detained.
Police charged him with working as a tour guide without permission, being a foreign national working without a work permit, and working in a profession reserved for Thai citizens.
He was handed over to the Tha Chatchai police station for legal action.
Tourist police have recently launched a crackdown on illegal tour guides and tour firms found to be operating without permission, particularly in tourist provinces like Phuket.
On Tuesday, a Hong Kong man was arrested and charged with running a tour company and working as a tour guide in Phuket.