Russian brotherhood stealing Phuket jobs

Hotels are unwelcoming. In the massage parlours, everyone is tense. Down Walking Street, in the girly bars, excitement is high and the air is filled with fearful chatter. The girls are aquiver in anticipation. The Russian ‘brotherhood’ (bratva) stealing Phuket jobs is bringing a whole new style of beatings and rapes to Thailand’s peaceful brothels. How will the new regime of violence and exploitation compare to the old-school Thai versions?

Phuket, the gangster paradise

Phuket is besieged by foreign gangs. They call themselves mafias – or at least the media does – but they are certainly not. Mafia means something. These “groups” are nothing more than gangs of thugs on the resort island to help the locals with their accounts.

The hospitality industry is worried. Executives are concerned that foreigners are exploiting laws to run businesses while taking up jobs meant…