Bangkok, September 26: Thai authorities have agreed to set up a special police force at Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi International Airport to crack down on baggage theft and a variety of scams adversely affecting the country’s tourism, a news report said Saturday.
The 280-man airport police force will be under the Tourism Police Division and will receive special funding form the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) – the state tourism promotion agency, the Bangkok Post reported.
Government, police and airport authorities agreed Friday that the new force is necessary to crack down on baggage theft and illegal taxis and tour guides operating at the airport.
Past efforts to end such scams have proven unsuccessful as the perpetrators have been found to be connected to senior airport authority officials.
“If we have a Suvarnabhumi police station to take charge of the airport, bad people roaming around should finally disappear,” Airports of Thailand president Serirat Prasutanond said.
A few months ago a British couple complained of having been arrested and falsely accused by police of shoplifting at a Suvarnabhumi duty-free outlet. They were only released after agreeing to pay a hefty “fine.”
–Agencies