Fifteen Thais and 30 foreigners were arrested while partying after hours at an eatery in Bangkok’s Hua Mark area early Monday morning, Immigration Police Bureau commissioner Pol Lt Gen Pakphumpipat Sajjaphan said.
He said the Nakhon Bar Bangkok restaurant, made of modified shipping containers, was raided by immigration and Hua Mark police about 1.45am.
There were 45 customers, 15 Thais and 30 foreigners, eating and drinking.
All the foreigners were from African countries, mainly Nigeria, Congo and Cameroon.
Fifteen were not carrying passports or had passports without immigration entry stamps.
They were initially charged with illegal entry or entering the country without being properly checked by authorities.
Police were still to finalise charges against the 15 others.
The Thai customers were charged with violating the emergency decree.
A 41-year-old woman, whose name was withheld by police, identified herself as the operator of the restaurant.
She said the restaurant had been opened with the proper permits to sell alcoholic drinks, but had been closed due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
She had rented the premises from the owner and reopened it to serve foreign customers about a month ago.
All the doors and windows were covered with metal shutters to prevent the music disturbing people outside, she said.
She was initially charged with selling alcoholic drinks without permission, selling food and drink in unhygienic conditions and being open beyond the hours set by the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration.
The woman and the foreigners were handed over to Hua Mark police for legal proceedings.
