PUBLISHED : 23 Jan 2024 at 11:25
PHUKET: Four Russian gamblers were arrested while playing poker at a luxury villa in Muang district.
A fifth was charged with possession of substances for smoking in a baraku pipe.
Police armed with a court search warrant raided the villa in Soi Salika, tambon Rawai, on Monday.
As they arrived they saw a man park a motorcycle outside the premises and hurry inside. Police followed him in and up to the second floor, where they found four other Russian nationals playing poker.
The poker players were detained and police impounded a large card table, two decks of cards, 88 chips said to be worth about 356,300 baht, substances used for baraku smoking, and other items.
The four card players allegedly admitted to gambling at poker, using the chips as cash.
The motorcyclist admitted to ownership of the baraku substances, police said. He was charged with buying or having prohibited items.
All five were taken to Chalong police station for legal proceedings.
The raid followed an investigation into reports of foreigners illegally gambling at the villa.