RUSSIAN TRAFFICKING EXTENDS TO THAILAND

Submitted by: Doris Parker


 RUSSIAN MAFIA TAKING OVER PROSTITUTION IN THAILAND – This is really a contradiction in terms, for the Thai Government refuse to accept that Thailand is the Sex Tourism Capital of Asia.  On the other side of the coin are local officials in places such as Pattaya who are reporting that Uzbek Russian Mafia figures are now very much in control of prostitution.


So who is right?  Central Government or the Local Authorities?  The answer is clear, the local authorities are fully aware of what is going on in its own back yard and central government is simply trying to sweep under the carpet the fact that Thailand is basically a whore house.
This really comes as no surprise.  This is after all a government that conducts its activities in the most covert ways and simply want to portray Thailand as a land of culture, harmony, happy people with stunning natural landscapes, whereby the truth is an ugly, seedy place where violent crime, extortion and murder is common place and which is often controlled by those in power.
In Pattaya there is an area known as Walking Street.  Here along the 3 mile strip you can find, on any given night, up to 27,000 Girls and Boys selling themselves for sexual favours.  The official name given to these workers by the government are ‘Bar Hostesses’, but as anyone is fully aware these are prostitutes.

“Anyone who goes to Pattaya, they see 27,000 sex workers in a corridor of about three miles,” said Matthew Friedman, former regional manager for the United Nations Interagency Project on Human Trafficking.

The big issue here is not the fact that Thailand is a whore house, but the fact that the government officials and local authorities, who often have finger in this seedy trade are now losing out to foreign infiltration.  One thing the Thais have never been able to grasp is the simple truth is that flies are attracted to human waste and with corruption being at the bottom of the barrel this will invariably attract other files.

Crime, regardless of the type, is always attractive to those who fully realize that little can or will be done about crime.  Thailand is a place where you can literally get away with murder, if you know the right people and your pockets are deep enough to make the payments.
The Russian Mafia element, like the Thai Mafia, simply understand that their criminal activities can go unpunished providing they can intimidate or pay off enough people.

From many people’s perspective, or at least those familiar with Thailand, will simply state that the Thais have created the issues that they now face and the concern has nothing to do with the fact that crime is being committed but by the fact that crime is being committed from foreigners and it is these people who are draining the illicit income from the pockets of the Thais.
To highlight this point further, there have been numerous reports of underage prostitution and yet the Thai authorities never take steps to address this problem.  The reason behind this is clear, there is no money in reducing the problem, however if they can eradicate foreign mafia influence then the money will go directly to the Thais and it is the issue of money that is important to the Thais and not the degradation of their citizens.

The sad truth here is that the prostitution issue in Thailand will never change.  What will change is those who are running it and with a growing, and well organized, foreign mafia groups coming onto the scene it looks like the troubles are about to begin and in the usual Thai fashion this will involve guns and killing.
There is no doubt, from the opinions I have heard on the ground, that the Thais fear the Russians – this is no doubt caused by the movies and bad press Russians and its mafia have received over the years.  In a way the Thais do have a right to fear the Russian mafia, they are certainly more organized whereas the Thais rarely stick together – it’s pretty much every corrupt man for himself.

Thailand is certainly no place for the average tourist.  If you are looking for sun, sand and sea then there are many far more and less dangerous places to visit.  If however your tastes run to getting drunk every night and sleeping with young girls then Thailand is certainly the place to come… just remember to watch your back as with any organized crime there is often violence lurking around every corner.