Transcript of the above video: 

As the title of this video suggests, we are discussing the Royal Thai Army seems to have been involved in a raid on an illegal school here in Thailand. Now I want to go ahead and preface this video by saying, this is important. There's a reason I put it in caps in the title of the video, that this is the Army. We are not talking about the Police, we're not talking about Immigration, we're talking about the Army, okay? And for those who know anything here in Thailand, that's serious, okay, very serious. I've discussed in other videos, there is a momentum behind the idea that there are a number of foreigners coming into Thailand, just completely disregarding Thai Law, Thai procedure, Thai custom especially as it pertains to work authorizations and all sorts of things pertaining to licensure for doing business in Thailand. On top of this, and I think it's very important to understand, Thai Law Enforcement and the powers that be in Thailand, including the Army, do not mess around when it comes to children. I've talked about this in other videos at length; they don't, okay. So the fact that the Army was involved in this tells me that look the momentum behind the idea that folks are acting illegally in Thailand and behind the idea - I have another video I'm making contemporaneously with this one, where we talk about a recent crackdown involving a trafficking ring here in Bangkok that just recently was busted up - all of this in its totality shows me hey, again the authorities here are not messing around in any way, shape or form as it pertains to children here in Thailand. 

So really quickly before I jump in, as I have discussed in other videos, but I think it's worth pointing out from time to time, folks will send us emails and things and they'll say "Hey, I really appreciate what you do with the channel" - I think a lot of people know that we don't monetize this channel directly. Obviously, it has promotional value for the firm - but people will say, "look I really appreciate the content you make, but I don't need to avail myself of a law firm. Is there anything we can do to support you?" And my response to that is, yeah, as discussed in other videos, my better half and I set up a restaurant here in downtown Bangkok, the name of it is Pancake Palace. As the name implies, it is breakfast any time. It's not only breakfast anytime, we also have American Diner style food. It's not only American food, we have an English breakfast set as well for those who are interested. We also have hamburgers, cheeseburgers, chilli bowls, tacos; we've got buffalo wings, chicken wings; we've also got grilled cheese sandwiches and Coke in glass bottles. If you do want to support us and we would love to see you, I'm in and out of there periodically, please feel free to come on by. Pancake Palace, the link is in the description to find us. 

That said, let's jump in here. I thought of making this video after reading a recent posting on X from Pure Guava, that's @PureGuava10300. Tip of the hat to this person. I interact with them on Twitter fairly frequently and honestly, Twitter is becoming a news site in and of itself of a very high calibre and this person actually puts out a fair bit of news on Thai matters, so tip of the hat to them. That said, quoting directly, title: Raid on "Illegal School in Koh Pha-ngan: claimed license for 18 children, nearly 100 Israeli kids found. Authorities uncovered an illegal school on Koh Pha-ngan exploiting a loophole by using a child-care license. Officially approved to care for only 18 children aged 2 to 5, the site was actually operating as an unlicensed private school with 89 foreign children (mostly Israeli), aged between 2 and 12."  Now here is where it gets important to my mind. Quote: "The case is part of a broader crackdown on foreign-run illegal businesses in key tourist areas". I have discussed that at length in other videos. Quoting further: "On May 1, 2026, Lt. Gen. Norathip Phoyanok, Commander of the 4th Army Region and Director of Internal Security Operations Command Region 4," - that's ISOC, okay? If you know the history of Thailand, this is not a guy to mess around with, okay. This is 4th Army Region under the Internal Security Operations Command, okay. This is not standard police. Again the priorities in Thailand, especially as it pertains to children, this is highly prioritised. I think this is indicative of the fact that the Army was involved in this rather than standard law enforcement. That said, quoting further: "ordered a joint operation involving security units, local Administration and Immigration Police in Surat Thani province, following complaints about an unlicensed school. Inspections of Arki Kids Co., Ltd. in Moo 3 revealed facilities set up like an off-system private school, including classrooms and a playground. However, documents filed with the Provincial Social Development Office only permitted daycare services for 18 children, contradicting actual operations. 

Findings included: 

89 foreign children (mostly Israeli) exceeding both the permitted number and age range 

40 Myanmar workers (some fled during the raid) 

12 additional foreign workers of other nationalities. 

Authorities arrested 9 individuals. The Management group included a 61-year-old Thai woman from Petchabun and 2 Iranian nationals, charged with jointly operating an unlicensed private school, violating child protection laws, and employing foreign workers without Work Permits or proper reporting. Six foreign teachers (American and South African nationals) were charged with working without Permits. Two others (French and South African) had Work Permits but failed to report employer details, workplace and job description within 15 days as required by law. The Company Manager attempted to present daycare license documents but could not provide authorization to operate a private school, claiming the application was still in process. The operation followed social media complaints alleging Israeli nationals were running illegal businesses in ways that could pose long-term national security concerns." - and again, that's key again here; long-term National Security concerns seems to have triggered a mechanism which has caused the Army to get involved, okay. I can't state enough the gravity of that, okay. If you have noticed, in pretty much every video I've ever made pertaining to law, law enforcement here in Thailand, we're talking about law enforcement, not the Army; this is the Army here. Quoting further: "All suspects have been handed over to investigators at Koh Pha-ngan Police Station, with further investigation into financial flows and additional parties underway." 

Look, as I have discussed in other videos, Thai Authorities are very concerned about foreign nationals, of all nationalities, coming into Thailand, disregarding relevant laws pertaining to work authorization, as well as we've seen a lot of talk - I recently did a video made contemporaneously with this one where an MP here in Thailand was talking about how many foreign nationals come here and end up behaving badly, getting into fights, operating illegally, these types of things. But again, I don't think it can be reiterated enough that the Army got involved here, and I don't find it coincidental that it had to do with a large group of children. 

Again, Thai law enforcement is not messing around when it comes to the issue of the protection of minors. Thailand is a country that again, it has never been colonized; it got through Communism and the Cold War on her own terms, and when it comes to issues of Thailand's children or children generally, Thailand takes these things extremely serious, I mean so seriously, look at this, and Army Commander, a Lieutenant General got involved in this thing, okay. 

So again, if you're looking to come to Thailand and acting nefariously toward children - I don't think that necessarily can be inferred from reading this article, as this appears to be more or less a licensing and work authorization issue -  but again if you're looking to come here to Thailand and engage in some sort of nefarious activities with children, find someplace else. Yeah, you know what? I may even throw up, it's from the film or it's from the series, what was it, 1883 I think by Taylor Sheridan and there's a great scene where the Sheriff of Fort Worth says, "if you want to dance with the girls, dance with the girls. If you want to drink at the bar, drink at the bar, but if any of y'all fancy yourselves a gunman, you're in the wrong town." You know and basically his point being that, that's how things ran around there. If you're coming to Thailand to do something nefarious with children, you're in the wrong place, because you may find the Army coming up against you, and I'm here to tell you, in the Kingdom of Thailand, that's the last crew you ever want to deal with.