Pattaya club raided in middle of night, 36 suspected drug users found
Police and district officials raided a club in Chon Buri in the early hours of Monday and found 36 customers testing positive to drug use.
Pichet Thammahone, assistant Bang Lamung district chief, led the raid on JT Club Karaoke in Tambon Nong Plue, Pattaya, at 3.30am.
The officials found 150 customers dancing, even though the legal closing time is 2am.
They also found that 70 of them were under 20 years old, the legal age for going to pubs and clubs. Of the 70, seven were under 16 - two boys and five girls.
More than half – 36 - tested positive to drugs and of those, 31 were under 20. A small bag of ketamine, a medication that induces a trance-like state, was also found on the floor.
The club manager, Praewprao McCulloch, was arrested and charged with violating opening hours, selling alcohol after licence hours, allowing underage people to enter an entertainment venue, selling alcohol to underage people, and allowing drugs to be used in a venue under her responsibility.
The 36 patrons were also arrested for abusing drugs and will be sent for mandatory rehabilitation.