The following is our weekly feature in which we highlight the top local stories in our area of Phuket from the past week. The number of stories differs from week to week.

These are chosen and curated by our editorial team and are designed for our readers to get a quick “catch-up” of important stories they may have missed. We publish many stories daily and it is easy to lose track of important events or changes in our area. We do national recaps in a separate article, this is only the top local stories in Phuket.

They are in no particular order of importance but roughly in order of publishing. These are from Monday, January 22nd to Sunday January 28th, 2024.

1. Police raided a villa where they discovered five Russians who were playing poker and gambling in Rawai, Mueang Phuket.

The suspects admitted to police that they were playing poker and gambling with currency chips to exchange for crypto.

2. An overstaying Israeli man was arrested after he was allegedly trying to rob a potential victim at an exchange booth in Patong.

The Israeli man admitted that he was trying to steal from the victim but he claimed he did not attack the victim.

3. A wanted Belgian / Moroccan National who worked as a DJ in Patong was arrested after he was allegedly involved in an attempted murder in his home country.

Mr. Achmal had entered Thailand many times with his Belgian passport. After that he switched to his Moroccan passport. He stayed in Bangkok, Sisaket, (northeast) and Phuket.

4. A British man was arrested with a magic mushroom in Patong. Magic mushrooms are listed as illegal category 5 drugs in Thailand.

Seized from him was 1.10 grams of a magic mushroom.

5. A young German man was arrested after he stole 86,000 baht from a hotel in Patong.

The suspect did not cover his face and even looked at a CCTV camera nearby before walking away. He was not a customer of the hotel.

That’s it for this week. Be safe!