Police find underage girls, drugs in raid at karaoke bar in Chiang Rai

Police and Interior Ministry officials joined forces to raid a karaoke bar in Chiang Rai province early on Thursday and arrested its manager for allegedly hiring underage girls and selling drugs.

The raid in tambon Band Du, Mueang district, was jointly authorised by Chiang Rai Governor Puttipong Sirimart, and Chiang Rai police chief Pol Maj-General Manop Senakul, and was carried out at 1.15am.

The bar manager was identified as Tanathorn, 51. He was charged with hiring children under 18 to work in his bar without informing the Labour Ministry and encouraging underage children to behave improperly as well as selling alcoholic drinks outside the legal hours and selling drugs.

During the raid, officials found a waitress to be 16 years old and three waitresses, who were older than 18, tested positive for drug use. A total of eight waitresses were detained during the raid.

Police also found several ecstasy pills pumped into the popular Labubu monster character and some ketamine drugs were reportedly found on the table where the manager was sitting at the time of the raid.

Police said the raid followed complaints from an organisation, which fights human trafficking, that girls under 18 were hired as bar girls at the venue.

Police sent an undercover officer to check and found four girls aged under-18 working as waitresses whom the customers could molest.

The same undercover agent was sent to check the shop again at 11pm on Wednesday night before police and Interior Ministry officials stormed in at 1.15am on Thursday.