Young Malaysians looking for a wild night out are sneaking illegally across the border into Narathiwat's Sungai Kolok district, according to the police chief of Malaysia's adjoining Kelantan state.
Police chief Mohd Yusoff Maman said young Malaysians leave their cars at Rantau Panjang and illegally cross the Kolok River into Thailand to enjoy the nightlife, Bernama news agency reported.
Rantau Panjang is a Malaysian border town opposite Sungai Kolok district.
Sungai Kolok is busy on weekends when visitors from Malaysia spend money in its nightclubs and other entertainment venues.
"Most of these youngsters go to Thailand on Thursday evening and return to Kelantan by Saturday," he said.
The Kelantan police chief was speaking at a press conference about the arrest of six young Malaysians at a hotel in Sungai Kolok on Friday and seizure of 6,060 methamphetamine tablets. They are aged 25 to 34 years.
The case caught public attention in Malaysia as a member in the group is a hugely popular singer known as Eda Ezrin.
The Kelantan police chief said on Tuesday he had proposed that the state's chief minister build a wall along the Kolok riverbank opposite Sungai Kolok, to curb cross-border crime. It would also serve as a flood barrier, according to Bernama.
