Thai police raid 'Sin City' nightclub 'employing foreign dancers'..
Police raided a nightclub suspected of illegally employing foreign dancers in Thailand.
Officers stormed the Badshah Club as authorities probed unlicensed entertainment venues in Thai 'Sin City' Pattaya, in the early hours of June 1.
Over 30 personnel swept into the club in the notorious Walking Street nightlife strip, where they found many foreign tourists, mostly Indian nationals, along with Thai female patrons, dancing and using services inside the crowded club.
Authorities immediately ordered the music to stop, turned on the lights, and began inspecting identification documents, passports, and other identification papers from everyone inside the premises.
Staff members were separated for inspection, including several Indian nationals employed at the venue.
Footage shows police questioning workers dressed in blue-and-white uniforms.
They also pulled aside several women in glamorous red and blue dresses, found dancing onstage. One was from Uzbekistan, three from Russia, and one from Georgia.
But initial checks found that the work permits held by the employees were valid.
Authorities later confirmed the venue was being investigated for allegedly running an unlicensed entertainment operation.
Police said they are still probing possible violations involving the hiring of foreign workers and adherence to labour laws.
They added that further legal action will depend on the outcome of ongoing evidence gathering and any additional findings connected to the club's operations.
Former fishing village Pattaya became popular with American troops on 'rest and relaxation' breaks in the 1950s and 1960s when the U.S. military had bases in Thailand while fighting Communism in Vietnam. Rural families are said to have even dressed their sons as women to cash in on the gold rush.
The handful of bars in the coastal town quickly grew and it is now the world's biggest sex holiday destination, with round-the-clock prostitution and drugs - a modern-day Sodom and Gomorrah rife with crime and debauchery.
Government chiefs have attempted to clean up the city but regular violence, depravity and claims of corruption continue to blight its reputation.