Authorities have closed 21 villas built illegally on Koh Samui, some of them housing foreign tenants who were ordered to leave.
Officials on Tuesday posted closure notices at the villas, which are on Khao Ma Ngaen mountain in Bo Phut.
The 21 villas were among 46 built illegally by three companies in Bo Phut. They had no building permits and encroached on the mountainside.
There were foreign tenants in three of the 21 villas. One of them, a Frenchman, said he had a one-year lease and paid a monthly rent of 20,000 baht.
The other villas were empty, but were advertised as available for rent.
