A German man who allegedly overstayed his entry visa for nine years was caught in a weekly operation that also nabbed 55 other foreigners who were living illegally in the kingdom.
Pol Maj Gen Surachet Hakpal, deputy tourist police chief, said at a 2am press conference that tourist police joined other agencies to check 74 locations around the country, including hotels, schools and language institutes, on Thursday.
He said the operation saw 56 foreigners arrested, 11 for overstaying their visa, 41 for having unlawfully entered the kingdom and four others on other charges.
Of the overstaying foreigners, a German allegedly lived in Thailand for nine years after his visa expired, Surachet added.
Surachet said the operation focused on checking English-language schools because many foreigners, who do not live in the kingdom lawfully, like to disguise themselves as English teachers.
Surachet added that he has carried out 31 operations so far and has searched 3,947 locations and arrested 1,724 foreigners.
