A BRITISH yoga teacher has been arrested after allegedly teaching tantric sex classes for just £10 a session.
Maria Shchetinina was detained by cops in Surat Thani, Thailand, for not having a valid work permit after being caught during a class put on behind a popular restaurant.
The British yoga teacher was allegedly flogging £10 sex classes to foreignersCredit: Tourist Police
Cops were tipped off by a Facebook user who allegedly spotted her advert
Tourist cops raided a restaurant on November 4 in Village 8 of Koh Pha Ngan after a tip off from a user.
According to a local paper they flagged an advert promoting the weekly “tantra” classes.
Tantric sex classes are a comprehensive yoga practice that integrates physical postures, breathwork, chanting, and meditation to harmonize the body, mind, and spirit.
Maria was reportedly offering the tantra yoga sessions, dubbed by locals as “sex yoga,” to foreign tourists for a fee of 400 baht (£9.42) per person.
The flyer claimed classes would be held every Tuesday from 4:30pm to 6pm, which allegedly included sexually suggestive movements.
The 40-year-old was charged earlier this week as intensify their crackdown on undocumented foreign workers on the island, which is heaving with foreign tourists.
Maria was nabbed midway through a class during a police inspection led by Tourist Police Station five under the command of Police Lieutenant Colonel Winij Boonchit.
While the tantric yoga teacher did have a valid passport and work permit, she was employed as a “customer relations manager” at a hotel management firm- not a yoga teacher, making her permit invalid.
She confessed to teaching the class after cops allegedly found her leading a group of foreigners through a seated meditation.
It was also reported that Maria was giving a cut of her earning to the restaurant.
Police say this clearly violates Thailand’s Foreign Act, as she was working outside the scope of her permitted duties.
Maria was arrested and charged with “being a foreigner engaged in work outside of her authorised rights.”
Maria has been taken to Koh Pha Ngan Police Station for further legal proceedings.
Thaiger reported a sweep of the premises uncovered five class tickets, a dozen flyers advertising tantra massage for couples, a notebook on “Tantra Yoga Sacred Sex,” and a billboard with Maria’s photo and QR code.
Two other foreigners were also arrested in a separate raid this week- they were Azerbaijani men allegedly providing electrical services without work permits.
In the separate raid on November 3, tourist cops cuffed two Azerbajani nationals, Aflan Almas and Sarkhan Jumshudlu- both 33.
A Thai contractor reportedly complained a local company was hiring foreign workers illegally and the Azerbaijani men were arrested shortly after.
Cops seized tools, including a drill, heat gun, light bulbs, sockets and other electrical equipment.
Cops say they are cracking down on foreign illegal workers
The pair were allegedly hired to install electrical wiring and lighting fixtures at a housing project in Sri Thanu village, in exchange for accommodation and meals.
Cops also identified Ukrainian, Tevhen Yavenko, a company director as the the suspect who was said to have arranged the electrician’s accommodation and food.
This comes after cops arrested a Polish YouTuber for offering similar “sex yoga” classes on the island.
The classes cost the same as Maria’s, however the polish influencer offered an “advanced” sex course costing 7,440 baht (£175.42) per pair.
Officials have issued a stark warning claiming anyone Thai or foreign discovered to have aided or benefitted from illegal face prosecution.
Koh Samui a popular resort island in the province of Surat Thani has seen a huge bolster in foreign tourism.
The Thai government release data earlier this year, which saw a 28% increase in foreign arrivals compared to the previous year.
Koh Samui has seen a 28% increase in foreign arrivals compared to the previous yearCredit: Getty
Eze Chidiebere Paul
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