More than 50 alleged drug abusers caught in Saraburi pub raid

The raid at the Ajax pub on Mittraparp Road in Tambon Pak Phriao was conducted at 1.40am.
Officials from the Juvenile Observation and Protection Department, the Provincial Administration Department, the Excise Department, and the Office of Narcotics Control Board as well as troops from the First Army Area in Saraburi, were involved.
They found 35 customers who were younger than the 20-year-old legal limit and 14 were younger than 18. The youngest customers was 16.

The raid was carried out after a parent lodged a complaint to Facebook page of the Provincial Administration Department that his daughter visited the pub and returned home with a small amount of ketamine drug.
Undercover officers found that at 1.30am, the pub still served alcoholic drinks to customers after the lawful 1am closing time.

When the officials waiting outside stormed in at 1.40am, there were still some 300 customers, drinking and dancing.
Customers were then lined up for urination tests and 29 men and 24 women tested positive for drug use.
The officials also found 23 customers who did not carry identification cards.

A 9mm pistol and 14 rounds of ammunition and an imitation gun were also seized from drinkers.

Some drugs were also found discarded on the floor.
The owner, Kamol Aroonsanti, 74, and the manager were charged with selling alcoholic drinks after legal hours and allowing people under 20 to enter the premises.
They were also charged with allowing drugs to be abused in their premises and allowing people to carry firearms into the place as well as selling alcoholic drinks to people under 20.
Ronarong Tipsiri, director of the Investigation and Suppression Division of the Provincial Administration Department, said the district chief would later report the raid to the provincial governor to seek his order to revoke the pub's licence.