Police raid ‘unlicensed’ gay bar in Pattaya, test patrons for drugs
Fifteen patrons tested positive for drugs after police and local officials raided Dragon Man Bar in Pattaya City in the early hours of Thursday morning.
Officials raided the gay bar in Soi Pattaya Klang 12 after 3am, following a tip that it had been operating without a permit, serving drinks after 2am, and selling drugs to patrons.
Police said they found drug-like substances in small zip-lock plastic bags that had been discarded on the floor and in trash cans. Others were found hidden in staff lockers, police said.
Used condoms were also found on the venue’s dance floor and sofas, and in dressing rooms, indicating that the Dragon Man Bar was also a sex club, police said.
Urine tests on about 50 patrons found that 15 of them – 14 men and one woman – had been using drugs.
The manager was unable to show permits for operating an entertainment venue and selling alcoholic drinks, police said. He was brought to Pattaya Police Station, along with the 15 patrons who tested positive for drugs, and charged.
Bang Lamung district chief Phisit Sirisawasdinukul will ask the provincial governor to ban Dragon Man Bar from opening for five years, he said.
