Chuwit: Russian gang controls Phuket

[admin]

A criminal gang based in Russia has established its influence on the tourist island of Phuket with help from local officials, MP Chuvit Kamolvisit said on Thursday.

Mr Chuvit, a Rak Thailand Party list MP, said the gang, called "Spachiba", used Phuket to launder dirty money by encroaching on national forests and investing in luxury housing estates and five-star hotels.

This gang of Russian nationals was able to run this money-laundering business with the help of land and administrative officials and police, he said.

The opposition Rak Thailand Party leader said the gang had also open a large casino called "Tiger" in soi Saen Sabai in the heart of the Patong area.

Tiger was the largest casino in the South with a daily turnover  of more than 100 million baht, he said.

Mr Chuvit said "Thung Thong" is another casino run by Russians in Phuket.

The two casinos made a daily payment to local and immigration police, he added.

The former massage parlour tycoon said he would ask the House committee on police affairs to investigate.

The national police chief and Region 8 Provincial Police chief as well as the provincial governor should seriously look into this matter, he said.

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Edited March 29, 2012 by FarangFarang

[FarangFarang]

Phuket Police Probe Maverick MP's Claims of Russian 'Mafia' in Phuket Casinos

PHUKET: A major police investigation was underway on Phuket today after extraordinary claims that Russian gangs are running a huge illegal gambling industry on Phuket with the help of police and other officials.

The claims came from maverick MP Chuvit Kamolvisit, a Rak Thailand Party member, at a media conference in Bangkok.

Although Mr Chuvit's claims have not always been substantiated in the past, Phuket's Police Commander, Major General Chonsit Wadhnawarangkun immediately ordered Phuket police to carry out raids on the alleged illegal casinos.

The former massage parlor tycoon's credibility probably rides on the accuracy of the remarkable claims he made today.

He said that, with the help of police and other officials, the Russian ''Spachiba'' gang had set up money-laundering outlets on Phuket, taking control of five-star resorts and villas in the process and creating two large illegal casinos.

Mr Chuvit said the biggest, in Patong's Soi Sansabai, was called ''Gambilng Tiger'' and handled 100 million baht a day. A second in the Tungthong district of Phuket handled 70-80 million baht a day.

Daily payoffs were made to police or Immigration officers, he claimed.

He said Phuket must have once been the Pearl of the Andaman but was now rapidly becoming the ''Bad Egg'' of the Andaman.

Mr Chuvit said he had been to Phuket recently and discovered a mosque and a school within six kilometres of the Phuket Governor's mansion where there was no electricity.

He said he was not surprised that PM Yingluck Shinawatra and her Cabinet on their recent visit to Phuket had been entertained at the five-star Hilton Phuket Arcadia Resort and Spa rather than visiting the powerless mosque and school.

Commander Major General Chonsit swung teams of police into action late this afernoon as soon as he heard Mr Chuvit's claims.

http://phuketwan.com/tourism/phuket-police-probe-maverick-mps-claims-russian-mafia-phuket-casinos-15746/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+PhuketWan-TopStories+%28Phuket+Wan+-+Top+Stories%29

[FarangFarang]

What Phuket Casinos, Say Senior Police As MP Makes a Fuss

PHUKET: Police on Phuket took the unusual step of calling a media conference yesterday to refute allegations made by maverick MP Chuvit Kamolvisit.

There was no truth in claims made by the MP that police and Immigration officers took money to cover the existence of two large illegal casinos on Phuket, said Deputy Region 8 Police Chief Major General Pisan Juldilok.

He was speaking at a news conference at Phuket Police Headquarters in Phuket City, accompanied by Phuket Police Commander Major General Chonsit Wadhnawarangkun.

Major General Pisan said he believed Khun Chuvit was ''trying to discredit police at a time when officer transfers were being considered across the country, as they are at this time every year.''

Owners of the Tiger Group, well-known for its entertainment facilities in Phuket's west-coast nighlife capital, Patong, told the gathering they were contemplating civil and criminal action against Khun Chuvit.

They, like the police, totally rejected Khun Chuvit's allegation that there were large casinos being operated on Phuket through Russian gang connections.

''There is zero casino-style gambling on Phuket,'' Major General Pisan said.

Khun Chuvit's claims received a wide airing in the Thai media especially.

The MP says he spent three days conducting research on Phuket for a YouTube video. The video certainly shows near-naked pole dancers in Phuket but offers no footage to support his more serious contentions.

Khun Chuvit claims Phuket has gone from being the Pearl of the Andaman to the ''Bad Egg'' of the Andaman.

However, Phuket Intrerrnational Airport statistics show a record number of 8.4 million passengers arriving or departing through the facility in 2011.

http://phuketwan.com/tourism/phuket-casinos-senior-police-makes-fuss-15754/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+PhuketWan-TopStories+%28Phuket+Wan+-+Top+Stories%29

[beej]

Good ol' Chuvit, I'm a big fan.... he's like a Thai George Galloway.

[Stramash]

Good ol' Chuvit, I'm a big fan.... he's like a Thai George Galloway.

Great comparison! Does Chuvit like cigars?

[Sathorn]

I like Chuvit too, because he makes me giggle apprehensively when I hear the word 'corruption' in connection with his name.

[Stramash]

I like Chuvit too, because he makes me giggle apprehensively when I hear the word 'corruption' in connection with his name.

Giggle apprehensively????

Homo