Bangkok, Nov. 10 (EFE) .- At least eight police officers are being investigated for allegedly extorting foreigners in Phuket, a tourist island in southern Thailand that is very popular for its beaches and nightlife, informed official sources today.

General Surachet Hakpan, director of the Tourism Police, told Efe that the investigation began after the complaint in a local media and that the highest-ranking police investigator is a lieutenant colonel.

A week ago, Spotlight Phuket, a television channel that is broadcast on the Internet and on Facebook, reported that Dozens of foreigners were being detained by the Phuket Police with the aim of obtaining bribes.

In one video, one of the journalists, who identifies himself as Joe, states that the Most extorted foreigners come from the Middle East and South Asia.

Spotlight Phuket also filed a petition at the headquarters of the National Police in Bangkok to denounce the facts, according to the Khaosod portal.

The Thai authorities try to avoid scandals in tourist areas, as the tourism sector involves around 10 percent of the national GDP.

The military junta that governs Thailand since the military coup of 2014 pledged to put an end to irregularities and abuses in areas of beach, like the scams in the rental of jet skis or the irregular construction of hotels.