Thailand - Bangkok police

Hi everyone,

I've been to Bangkok a number of times over the past few years, almost always on my own. However, this year, more specifically May and June, I have been stopped a few times by the police, gruffly wading their way through my possessions and pockets. Each of the few occurrences has been on different sections of Sukhumvit and at different times of day; I reckon it may partially have to do with drug smugglers, and possibly with my Carlos the Jackal-esque shades. Has anyone else experienced the staccato murmurs of the Bangkok police?

You sure it is the real police? There are many scams involving fake police officers who will 'not take you into custody when you pay them a little compensation'. Or so I have read.

Never been stopped, but I've read and heard about it. They like to pull over taxis with farang in them too, between 33 and Nana. They're looking for ya-ba. wj

I had a buddy who had this happen once. Took everything from his pockets before giving everything back and sending him on his way. This incident took place near the river.

At the time a few of us figured it was for drugs based upon his description of events.

It would be good if the OP could identify if they were Bangkok Metropolitan Police or Royal Thai Police. My best guess would be the former. They have definitely increased their activities in the tourist areas, and I have often seen many foreigners stopped at their various temporary locations. Primarily foreigners are stopped for littering (discarding cigarettes) with he initial fine being 2,000 baht. Most pay this but it can be negotiated down to 200 - 300 baht.

In ~ 8 years I have never been stopped by any Police so I have no first-hand experience. Depending on the exact situation I might not submit to the entreaties of the Metro Police (also called Sidewalk Police), but would obviously for the RTP.

It would be good if the OP could identify if they were Bangkok Metropolitan Police or Royal Thai Police.

The BMA guys who throw their half-eaten chicken wings to the ground and then walk past twenty Thai people who just threw various plastic bags / cigarettes / food items onto the footpath to stalk you on a bicycle to see if a hair drops so they can ask you to pay 2000 baht for littering are not police!

You mean the guys in the little huts around Emporium etc, right ?

They are NOT police. Just BMA goons in a deliberately police-like uniform. They don't have the same powers of arrest as actual police and cannot search you. In Australia the equivalent would be a park ranger or special constable who is attached to a municipality or the EPA. They are two levels below a mall cop and 2 levels below an actual street cop.

I have on occasion experienced what the OP described. Each time it was a courteous process. Taxi gets stopped, couple of cops walk up, size up the pax, check if everyone has ID on them and send us on our way. Once or twice they might have asked me to produce the contents of my pockets. Never been extorted or set-up or had anything stolen this way. It was legit police work (a rare thing in BKK :D ).

Years ago when I started driving a car up and down Sukhumvit I thought it's gonna be a mess because some expat fora give you the impression that police will stop every foreigner they see driving for a shake-down.

In fact I have driven past police dozens of times and been waved through many check-points without incident. 3 times I had been stopped and hassled and each time it was justified because I was driving like an idiot.

Some districts were less professional than others but I have not yet been accused of something I didn't do. In all three cases I violated traffic rules (as you must in BKK) and happened to get caught. In all cases a real ticket was issued, my license was retained and I went to the station the next day to pay the fine, get a receipt and my license back ^

In summary: Yes they are useless and many are corrupt :td: but we aren't really being targeted. ^ Real police work does happen from time to time. ^

The BMA guys who throw their half-eaten chicken wings to the ground and then walk past twenty Thai people who just threw various plastic bags / cigarettes / food items onto the footpath to stalk you on a bicycle to see if a hair drops so they can ask you to pay 2000 baht for littering are not police!

You mean the guys in the little huts around Emporium etc, right ?

They are NOT police. Just BMA goons in a deliberately police-like uniform. They don't have the same powers of arrest as actual police and cannot search you. In Australia the equivalent would be a park ranger or special constable who is attached to a municipality or the EPA. They are two levels below a mall cop and 2 levels below an actual street cop.

I have on occasion experienced what the OP described. Each time it was a courteous process. Taxi gets stopped, couple of cops walk up, size up the pax, check if everyone has ID on them and send us on our way. Once or twice they might have asked me to produce the contents of my pockets. Never been extorted or set-up or had anything stolen this way. It was legit police work (a rare thing in BKK :D ).

Years ago when I started driving a car up and down Sukhumvit I thought it's gonna be a mess because some expat fora give you the impression that police will stop every foreigner they see driving for a shake-down.

In fact I have driven past police dozens of times and been waved through many check-points without incident. 3 times I had been stopped and hassled and each time it was justified because I was driving like an idiot.

Some districts were less professional than others but I have not yet been accused of something I didn't do. In all three cases I violated traffic rules (as you must in BKK) and happened to get caught. In all cases a real ticket was issued, my license was retained and I went to the station the next day to pay the fine, get a receipt and my license back ^

In summary: Yes they are useless and many are corrupt :td: but we aren't really being targeted. ^ Real police work does happen from time to time. ^
Sorry but you have left me confused. So if stopped or questioned, we should ignore the BMA guys (does BMA stand for Bangkok Metropolitan Police?)

Sorry but you have left me confused. So if stopped or questioned, we should ignore the BMA guys (does BMA stand for Bangkok Metropolitan Police?)

BMA is Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (http://www.bangkok.go.th/th/main/index.php?l=en). The gentleman on the front page is Sukhumband, our governor.

It will be up to your comfort level and language skills to make a judgement call if you are in the situation of being stopped by them. If you are positive you have done nothing wrong you can in theory walk away and they will have a hard time to lawfully detain you. In reality it is not a good idea to stand your ground in a shake-down unless you have connections and / or very good language skills.

But to clarify: I have not seen the BMA scum stop people who didn't litter and extort money from them for the hell of it... But what they do is ignore everyone but foreigners who are littering and to go great lengths to catch you littering.

A 2000 baht littering fine is clearly not for the local market and totally our of proportion. I can run a red light for 300 baht.. 2000 Baht is a week's salary for many people.

Some links to clarify: Archived BKK Post article from 2010 (http://aladdin.st/holiday11/cigpolice.htm)

Interesting allegations in a Thai Expat Forum (http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/377657-cigarette-police-on-sukhumvit-road/)

thaivisa among other places reporting that 33 foreigners were stopped and given drug test on Monday night on Sukhumvit soi 3. 16 failed.

thaivisa among other places reporting that 33 foreigners were stopped and given drug test on Monday night on Sukhumvit soi 3. 16 failed.

Wow! On what basis were these drug tests given? I find this appalling.

Wow! On what basis were these drug tests given? I find this appalling.

W-W-N - Walking while (looking) Nigerian probably. Soi 3 needs the clean up IMO. Lotsa scumbag African scammers and drug dealers down there. The BIB (boys in brown) are finally concluding that the kickbacks aren't worth all the bad press. They're giving the neighborhood a bad rep and the Arabs aren't part of the problem from what I here. wj

W-W-N - Walking while (looking) Nigerian probably. Soi 3 needs the clean up IMO. Lotsa scumbag African scammers and drug dealers down there. The BIB (boys in brown) are finally concluding that the kickbacks aren't worth all the bad press. They're giving the neighborhood a bad rep and the Arabs aren't part of the problem from what I here. wj

I'll take your word on it. That's not a part of town I know my way around.

Would the locals advise that if there is some odd questioning by a BMA policeman that it would be a wise option to demand to speak with a member of the tourist police? Or is that just going to aggravate the situation?

Well, the cadre was wearing beige and packing heat, and considering that they went through EVERYTHING yet put EVERYTHING back, I'd reckon they weren't out there to scam me. Based on everyone's recent observations and what I've deduced, it seems justifiably so that drugs are the reason for my being stopped.

Thanks for your input, mates.

Would the locals advise that if there is some odd questioning by a BMA policeman that it would be a wise option to demand to speak with a member of the tourist police? Or is that just going to aggravate the situation?

I think this really depends on the situation. I guess if I had not done anything illegal that I would simply smile, bow slightly, say "thank you, good bye", and walk away. If I had done something illegal then I might try to deal with the situation then and there, without involving the Tourist Police.



Well, the cadre was wearing beige and packing heat, and considering that they went through EVERYTHING yet put EVERYTHING back, I'd reckon they weren't out there to scam me. Based on everyone's recent observations and what I've deduced, it seems justifiably so that drugs are the reason for my being stopped.


Your OP mentioned you've been stopped "a few times", I guess that means at least twice? Did they ask for an ID/passport?

Most RTP wear dark brown pants/shirts, but do always have sidearms. I'm not sure which policing force you may have encountered, but having sidearms means something other than BMA Police. Although beige attire is something new?

Obviously Thai officials can stop any persons they want. Thai citizens are required to carry their official government ID cards at all times, and I have seen some instances where Special Branch (part of the RTP - darkish blue uniform, pinkish shoulder patch, sidearms) are stopping Thais and asking to look at their ID cards.

Again, every situation is different, and in 8 + years walking, driving (cars, motorcycles) everywhere I have only ever been stopped once, in a taxi by Thai Army soldiers, with a tank on Phaya Thai Road, the night of 19 Sep 2006, so my experience is limited.

Without a lot more detail from the OP re: time of day, location(s) it may be challenging to determine the exact reason(s). I guess drugs are a problem here which gets infrequent but focused attention here in the form of proactive policing. But it's not obvious to me that this was the reason the OP may have been targeted multiple times.

I'll take your word on it. That's not a part of town I know my way around.
There's an Egyptian joint down there I love and eat at fairly frequently. Been offered all kinds of nefarious nonsense by the scammers. wj

Hi everyone,

I've been to Bangkok a number of times over the past few years, almost always on my own. However, this year, more specifically May and June, I have been stopped a few times by the police.....


I guess drugs are a problem here which gets infrequent but focused attention here in the form of proactive policing. But it's not obvious to me that this was the reason the OP may have been targeted multiple times.

The police had announced there would be stepped up targeting of drugs and weapons in the middle of June and the the goods would be shown to all and sundry immediately thereafter.

OP might have been caught up in this most recent, and assuredly ephemeral, push.

According to Stickman, this has been going on for many months, and escalating.

Another war on drugs, I guess. Hopefully the desire to please does not match 2002/2003 levels.

http://www.bangkokpost.com/news/local/299856/govt-gives-national-priority-status-to-anti-drugs-efforts

Govt gives national priority status to anti-drugs efforts
Published: 27/06/2012

The government's war on drugs has been given priority status on the national agenda. Thousands of people hold up large pieces of cloth toformagiant national flag as part of activities at the Royal Plaza yesterday to launch a governmentanti-drug campaign. A campaign was launched at the Royal Plaza yesterday to encourage people from all sectors of society to work together to combat drugs.

Thousands of government officials and members of the public attended the launch. The campaign is also in honour of Her Majesty the Queen's 80th birthday this year and is aimed at raising awareness of Her Majesty's concern about the country's drug problem and her efforts to end it. Presiding over the launch of the campaign, Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra said the government has afforded the drug problem national priority status, as suggested by Her Majesty the Queen.

Ms Yingluck said the Queen donated funds to community volunteers so they could tackle drugs in their communities, which led to the establishment of the Kongthun Mae Khong Phaen Din (the Mother of the Nation) fund. Ms Yingluck said the government has followed up on the Queen's initiative and the aims of the anti-drug campaign include suppressing drug traffickers, separating drug users from drug dealers, and rehabilitating drug addicts.

It has also named June every year as an official anti-drugs month.

Ms Yingluck said the government has followed up on the Queen's initiative and the aims of the anti-drug campaign include suppressing drug traffickers, separating drug users from drug dealers, and rehabilitating drug addicts.


Don't forget Chalerm's desire to revisit his hero's widespread killing of suspected drug dealers.