Police raided three Middle Eastern restaurants and arrested three Thai operators for allegedly selling hookah tobacco illegally smuggled into Thailand.
Juraiwan Bunkaew, 19, of the Ankhrin restaurant; Somwang Teesuankhok, 59, of Aladdin Caesar; and Somchai Prathanwattana, 60, of another restaurant also named Aladdin Caesar were taken into custody July 15. A total of eight kilograms of “baraku” tobacco that lacked proper excise tax stamps was seized.
Baraku is a blend of tobacco specially flavored with fruits, herbs and spices and is primarily used in hookahs, a favorite smoking device in the Middle East.
