Police round up 400 in anti-racing sweep
Bangkok police rounded up more than 400 motorcyclists after cordoning off the Royal Plaza late on Saturday night and charged them with racing on public roads and illegally modifying their machines.
The motorcycle riders were taken to the Dusit Police station to be charged and to have their parents summoned as many of them were under 18 years old. Many of the 400 motorcycles inspected by police were seized for violations of traffic laws. Police made the massive arrest at about half past midnight following public complaints that the motorcyclists were gathering at the Royal Plaza to race and were creating a disturbance with loud noises emanating from their modified exhausted pipes. Police from the Metropolitan Division 1 and 191 Special Force blocked all roads leading to the Royal Plaza except U-thong Road, where they waited to arrest the motorcyclists as they passed through. Police said they received complaints at 9pm that about 1,000 motorcycles were gathering at the Royal Plaza to race, causing traffic snarls and a disturbance in the area. But when police moved in, the motorcyclists scattered and fled on several adjoining roads. The riders gathered again at 11pm, but this time the police were ready and moved in from all roads to block their escape routes.
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