Special Branch and Immigration police raided a dozen spots in Pattaya, arresting 18 foreign fugitives and suspected criminals.
Special Branch commander Pol. Maj. Gen. Surachet Hakpal and Chonburi Immigration chief Pol. Col. Songprode Sirisuka led the Sept. 28 raid on condos, apartments and hotels where large numbers of foreigners resided.
Suspects apprehended hailed from Cameroon, Nigeria, India, Uganda, the United Kingdom, Uzbekistan, among other places.
Nine were charged for overstaying their visas while the others were charged with a variety of crimes, including drugs, suspicious tobacco and more.
Surachet said recent arrests of foreign ATM skimmers, fraudsters and others prompted the crackdown, which he said will be repeated regularly.
Meanwhile, owners of the subject condos and hotels were called in and told to do a better job of screening foreigners and rejecting overstayers.
