Walking Street, Pattaya — Undercover police stormed through the neon-lit alleyways of Pattaya’s red-light district late Thursday, arresting a baker’s dozen of foreign sex workers in a meticulously planned sting operation that’s sending shockwaves through the city’s shadow economy.

Four Alleged Ugandan and Tanzanian Prostitutes Arrested in Phuket

The raid—spearheaded by a joint task force of tourist police, immigration officers, and local officials—unfolded like a scene from a crime thriller. Plainclothes operatives had spent weeks infiltrating Pattaya’s seedy underbelly, documenting how the suspects “marked” potential clients with telltale gestures and whispered offers of illicit services.

Investigators uncovered a disturbing pattern of immigration fraud: two Ugandans allegedly entered on education visas but never attended classes, three Uzbeks had overstayed their visas by 4-11 months and one suspect presented a forged work permit from a nonexistent Pattaya hotel.

13 foreign women deported for prostitution in Pattaya

THIRTEEN foreign women from Uzbekistan and Uganda were arrested on charges of blatant and aggressive prostitution in Pattaya with all of them blacklisted and deported, TV Channel 7 said today (May 9).

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— Chrome Crumpet (@ChromeCrumpet) May 9, 2025

“These weren’t desperate backpackers,” remarked Immigration Bureau Colonel Thanet Sukchai. “We’re talking about sophisticated operators with networks stretching across multiple provinces.”

The crackdown comes as Pattaya authorities attempt to rebrand the city’s image ahead of high season, though veteran expats whisper that the trade will simply migrate to Telegram channels and private villas.

30 foreign women arrested for alleged prostitution on Soi Nana in Bangkok

“You can’t stop the world’s oldest profession,” mused a retired German bartender watching the arrests, “you just make it more expensive.”

-Thailand News (TN)