Showing posts with label Phuket Thailand - Hells Angels' Paradise. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Phuket Thailand - Hells Angels' Paradise. Show all posts

Sunday, May 14, 2023

Phuket Thailand - Hells Angels' paradise lost

Night is painted with flashing neon in Phuket. This is a party place - a vacation escape of the everyday.
Along with cheap prices and the ability to blend in with other "farangs" - foreigners, Phuket has much to offer. It is also a global haven for criminals. The list is long ... fraudsters, murderers, pedophiles, fugitives on the run, many call Phuket home. Corruption and slow computerization of records has long made Thailand safe from the long arm of the law. Bikers wear flip flops and drive mopeds. Harleys are impractical in the narrow streets.
The HA clubhouse overlooks Patong beach. The clubhouse is closed after recent unrest. A shooting in August 2022 brought great heat from Thai cops. Oz bikies have been feuding with Thai locals since 2015. Cops also closed the Bankok clubhouse after introducing new laws to deal with imported bikies and and their crime. The bikers must now keep a low profile and need to keep the peace or they will be deported. "We build playgrounds for orphans" says 'Dennis' when asked if the HA receive money through drugs, weapons, prostitution or extortion.
The HA Nomads celebrated their 20th anniversary in Phuket. They like it here.

HA Luke Anderson got sent packing back to Australia from Thailand. He's wanted for drug trafficking. Anderson made headlines in 2016 for bashing a Thai man. The 3 HA bikers avoided consequences by paying restitution.