PHUKET, THAILAND – At six in the morning: Handcuffs clicked in the dream backdrops of Phuket, Phang Nga, and Krabi on June 20, 2026. A massive police operation with 59 arrest warrants and 60 search warrants is targeting networks accused of illegally securing land for foreigners through nominees.
Order from the Top: Premier’s Fist Against Nominees
Police Lieutenant General Noppasil Poonsawat personally gave the signal for phase three of the unprecedented hunt on the forecourt of Phuket City Police Station. The commissioner in the office of the National Police Chief made it clear that the operation was a direct instruction from the Prime Minister.
The objective is crystal clear: to dry up the lucrative but illegal businesses involving foreign nominees in southern Thailand. No more veiled letterbox companies, no more hidden land ownership by foreign investors.
High-Level Alliance Against Land Grabs
The investigators did not act alone. Alongside Noppasil were the heads of Provincial Police Region 8, led by Police Major General Narongrit Dansuwan, and Phuket’s local commander, Police Major General Sinlert Sukhum. Even the head of Immigration Bureau 6, Police Major General Chutareth Yingyongdamrongsakul, was present.
Civilian authorities also joined with full force: Two Deputy Directors-General of the Cadastral Office, Thanawat Patsadarak and Trairat Thepborirak, led their teams into the field. Together with the administration, commerce, and labor departments, they are now uncovering every detail.
In Focus: 29 Companies in Phuket
The raid’s focus is on the holiday island of Phuket, where 29 companies have come under the scrutiny of law enforcement. The accusation is serious: the companies have share structures in which foreigners effectively hold the power, while Thai shareholders exist only on paper.
With this trick, the networks conceal that the companies own valuable land, which is strictly forbidden for foreigners under Thai law. Officials are now combing through ownership records and share registers.
Prelude on Koh Phangan
Today’s large-scale operation is not a bolt from the blue. Police and authorities had been surveying the area for a month before striking. The preliminary investigations were intended to rule out any risk of failure.
In the first two phases of the operation on Koh Phangan in Surat Thani province, investigators already uncovered similar networks. The government’s pressure on the masterminds behind the illegal real estate deals is increasing nationwide.
Dummy Investors with Welfare Cards Unmasked
Investigators encountered unwelcome surprises during the searches. Some individuals who officially appeared as wealthy investors and company owners, in reality, did not even have enough money for daily living. They lived on state welfare and possessed only a social insurance card.
These alleged businessmen had no genuine capacity to participate in a joint venture. For the police, this is clear evidence that they merely served as nominees for foreign principals who thereby gained control of Thai land.