Anutin vows crackdown on local mafia after public beach encroachment in Phuket

Prime Minister and Interior Minister Anutin Charnvirakul, together with his delegation, visited Phuket on Tuesday to follow up on the crackdown on influential figures accused of encroaching on protected forest land around Freedom Beach.

The Prime Minister said there had been an attempt to seize all land occupied by local villagers and drive them out of the area. If the government had not stepped in quickly, he said, the land would have been turned into resorts and hotels. He added that Sor Kor land possession notification documents had allegedly been sold to villagers to create false claims through forged paperwork.

“This is national land. If people are allowed to use it, it must be open to everyone. Can we allow an entire beach to be taken over as private property? If their plan had succeeded, this whole beach would have become their private beach. But their plan collapsed first. From now on, they must pay for what they have done in prison,” he said.

Anutin described the case as “disgraceful”, especially when state officials were involved. He said rogue investors and thuggish financiers were already bad enough, but state officials who cooperated with them were even worse.

He said he did not believe officials could have been unaware of the construction of a 300-step concrete staircase in the area. In his capacity as director of the Internal Security Operations Command (ISOC), he said he would fully integrate forces to return justice to the people who had been harmed, stop the actions of those involved and prosecute them.

The Prime Minister also gave an assurance that once the land is reclaimed, it will not be seized back again.

“No one will dare, and I am not worried because we have law enforcers,” he said.

Anutin confirmed that the government would fully enforce the law from now on. Anyone still encroaching on land or carrying out activities there should withdraw immediately, he said. The government would not wait, but would use existing laws and the legitimate authority of the state to demolish, remove and reclaim the land without delay.

Cracking down on transnational nominee networks

Since early May 2026, the Department of Business Development has launched a wide-scale inspection of more than 11,426 legal entities in target tourist areas on Koh Phangan and Phuket after detecting suspected use of Thai nominees to evade business and property ownership laws.

The checks focused particularly on alleged groups involving Israeli and Chinese nationals who had established footholds in strategic areas.

Authorities found the use of multi-layered holding company structures to make it appear that Thai shareholders held the required 51% stake under the law, while in practice foreign nationals allegedly controlled all power and benefits.

The suspected front businesses included:

• Schools and childcare centres: unlicensed language schools and childcare facilities, with many illegal foreign workers found.
• Lifestyle businesses: yoga businesses allegedly used as fronts to acquire land for luxury villas, creating small foreign residential communities.
• Religious and food centres: the establishment of Chabad Houses and niche restaurants catering mainly to foreign communities.

Operation to reclaim Freedom Beach from Phuket mafia

The Prime Minister inspected the encroachment of national reserved forest around Freedom Beach in Phuket after the area had allegedly been controlled by influential figures for more than 20 years.

The group was accused of behaving like a mafia network by collecting entrance fees of 100-300 baht from tourists and encroaching on state land to build villas for rent to foreigners.

So far, 23 legal cases have been filed involving 63 rai of land, with particular focus on action against a key figure known as “Sia Lek”.

More than 200 officers searched 14 target locations, seizing 37 land title deeds covering about 51 rai, with an estimated combined value of more than 150 million baht.

Authorities also inspected six law offices suspected of helping foreigners set up 27 nominee legal entities.

The Royal Thai Police has instructed the Immigration Bureau to tighten checks on foreigners who have stayed in Thailand for unusually long periods. The operation is expected to show results within three months.

Statistics show that Chinese nationals make up the largest group currently detained, at 539 people, followed by nationals of Myanmar and Cambodia.

Legal changes to screen investors

The government insisted that proposed regulatory changes covering eight types of foreign business are not designed to liberalise the market, but to reduce duplication and improve competitiveness.

Specific regulatory agencies will oversee the process in order to separate genuine investors from grey-capital networks.

The Prime Minister also sought to reassure the public that the government remains committed to suppressing mafia groups and will fully protect witnesses.