PHUKET, THAILAND – Police in Cherng Talay uncovered an alleged illegal Baraku wholesaler operating out of a rented home in a quiet residential area.
Raid on rented home in Cherng Talay
The Region 8 special operations unit carried out the raid in the early hours of 9 December in Soi Hua Tiew. Officers targeted a rented apartment that had been used as a secret storage facility. Inside, they encountered Maksim Shalygin, a 41-year-old Russian national, and began a detailed search.
361 pieces of evidence seized
Investigators reported finding a large quantity of suspected contraband. In total, they seized 361 individual items as evidence. The haul included 296 packs of special water-pipe tobacco and 65 pieces of accessories such as hookah bowls and hoses, indicating a stock intended for resale rather than private use.
Three serious charges pending
Shalygin was taken to the Cherng Talay police station for further questioning. Prosecutors prepared three charges against him: violation of the Tobacco Act involving higher tax repayments, breach of the Customs Act carrying up to five years in prison, and infringement of the Consumer Protection Act, which allows for up to three years in prison or a fine of 600,000 baht (around 15,000 euros).
“We took consistent action against the illegal trade in smuggled goods.”
said a police spokesman.
Wider crackdown on Baraku and vapes
Authorities in Phuket had been conducting a broader campaign against illegal shisha and vape products for months. Three weeks earlier, a shop owner in Kathu was arrested for selling shishas to school students. In September, customs officials in Songkhla seized goods worth more than 4 million baht (about 100,000 euros), and on Bangla Road seven people, including a foreign manager, were detained this year for selling vapes and shishas to tourists.
Legal grey zone and tax losses
The products, marketed as “Baraku” or “E-Baraku,” occupied a legal grey area in Thailand. Many items were smuggled into the country without Thai tax stamps, causing significant tax losses to the state. Officials viewed the trade not as a minor offence but as a form of serious economic crime, also citing health concerns over often unknown ingredients.
Zero tolerance for foreign offenders
With stepped-up monitoring, Thai authorities aimed to send a clear message to foreign entrepreneurs in the tourism sector that illegal activities would not be tolerated. Whether involving drugs, fraud or smuggled goods, enforcement agencies increasingly underlined their determination. For the arrested Russian, the pursuit of easy money in the tropics now risked ending behind bars.