Pattaya —
Chonburi police raided a herbal shop in Pattaya for allegedly selling unapproved medicines with exaggerated health claims, arresting four individuals. This is only the latest raid against similar businesses which have had hundreds of complaints from tourists and residents since July, say police.
At 9:06 PM on November 26th, Chonburi Provincial Police raided the Green World Herbal Pharmacy, identified by police, in Pattaya. The operation followed several complaints from tourists about the store allegedly selling unapproved herbal remedies at inflated prices while making exaggerated health claims.
The raid involved officers from the Chonburi Provincial Police, Pattaya Police, Tourist Police, Immigration Bureau, and Chonburi Provincial Public Health Office’s Consumer Protection Division. The team conducted a sting operation, which led to the discovery of prohibited herbal products and the arrest of foreign individuals working without proper permits at the store.
The police confiscated items including:
- Five jars of brown herbal powder
- Two jars of yellow herbal powder
- Two jars of gray herbal powder
- Four jars of white herbal powder
- A 10-kilogram bag of herbal powder labeled “Bael Fruit”
- A bag of gray herbal powder labeled “Yanang leaves” by the suspects
Four suspects were detained, including Mr. Abdul, a 41-year-old Pakistani national, Ms. Teka, a 27-year-old Myanmar national, Ms. Napaporn, a 30-year-old Thai national, and Ms. Thareenee, a 43-year-old Thai national.
They face charges for producing and selling unregistered herbal products without approval. Additionally, Mr. Abdul and Ms. Teka were found to be working without proper work permits.
All confiscated items and suspects were handed over to the investigation team for further legal proceedings.
This is not the first time similar shops have been targeted by Pattaya authorities after months of complaints by tourists and local residents who claim that aggressive touts have hassled them while walking on Pattaya Beach or Second Road. One particular major incident involved an Indian tourist who claimed he was swindled out of 20,000 Baht.
Another herb shop was also raided in October for allegedly threatening tourists into purchasing their products also, as reported here.
The complaints follow a similar pattern, according to the victims: The tourist or resident is approached while walking through a high traffic area by a friendly stranger who points out a perceived defect in the appearance of the potential “customer.” This is usually hair loss, being overweight, or skin-related issues. They offer to help for free as a friendly person and bring the customer to a convenience store, where they usually purchase a small item for around 20 Baht from the medicine area and claim it can start to fix the issue but that if they go see their friend at their friend’s shop, they can truly resolve the problem for good.
If the customer follows the tout to the shop, the upsale begins, say complainants, with herbs being thousands or even tens of thousands of baht and if the customer refuses they are often told the mixing of the herbs has already begun and they have to pay now. If the customer refuses again, as seen above, there have been allegations of physical confrontations.
Police say hundreds of complaints have poured in since earlier this year and are dedicated to resolving them.
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