PHUKET: Just one of the 82 people wanted on 83 arrest warrants in the Patong taxi and tuk-tuk purge remains unaccounted for, the investigation's leader said today.

''Two people contacted police today to say they will surrender, leaving just one person yet to make contact,'' said Major General Paween Pongsirin, Commander of the General Staff Division, Region 8, who is currently based on Phuket.

All documents relating to the cases are expected to be passed to the Phuket Prosecutor before October 1: ''The tax office is looking at all the information we now have after interviewing many of the accused.''

In contrast to previous swoops, police compiled evidence before making arrests and went on search missions on Thursday with revenue and anti-corruption officers at their shoulders in an exercise involving a team of 500.

The most prominent targets of the raid, former Patong mayor Pian Keesin and his businessman son Prab, told Phuketwan after a media conference yesterday that they were innocent of all charges.

''As a candidate for mayor, I handed my business affairs over to my family a long time ago and I have had nothing to do with taxis or tuk-tuks,'' Pian Keesin said. ''I am not the head of any 'mafia' group.''

Khun Pian, now over 70, said he may seem rich but he was actually in debt to the Islamic Bank.

''We are Patong people and I have extensive land holdings,'' he said. ''With property around Patong valued so highly, I am able to negotiate loans.I am not corrupt.''

Khun Pian and son Prab surrendered to police on Monday and spent nine hours in police cells before being bailed early on Tuesday for 150,000 baht each. All of those arrested and charged so far have been bailed by police or the courts.

Khun Prab, 38, told Phuketwan yesterday that he was ''surprised'' to be accused and arrested.

''They think I am 'Mr Big' or the mafia,'' he said. ''I am sad about that because I have tried to help many people and organisations over the years.''

Khun Prab said he believed people form the wrong impression because he was once the mayor's son and a lot of his time is devoted to a broad spectrum of causes and activities in Patong.

''I am sad because I have tried to help many people and organisations,'' he said. ''We try to make tourists feel safe and to help everything improve.''

Khun Prab said that he, not his father, lives in the large family home in Patong.

A list found by police of 31 items, mostly related to vendors and touts in Patong and amounts per month, was actually part of his research for his PhD studies on Patong.

''If it was a genuine list of payments, it would contain names, amounts and telephone numbers,'' he said.

Khun Prab took over the running of the taxi and tuk-tuk queue at Jungceylon to establish a co-op and to make the system more efficient, he said. ''We put the drivers in uniforms, organised driver testing, and tried to establish a service mentality.''

Among other worthy community projects, Khun Prab said he also established a ''Learn the English language'' course.

In an interview with Phuketwan back in 2011, Khun Prab talked about Patong having a ''200 year history of corruption.''

Yesterday he said: ''Today I think it's better, some sections are better, some sections still have it.

''But we are in the time [under military rule] when everything is better now.''

He did say, however, that the beach clearances should have been done only after consultation with the people who were going to be affected.

Is Patong changing? ''We feel safer. But there is not too much movement of economics. Phuket needs to be a special zone. Many people are also asking: 'When are you going to be democratic again.'''

When asked how he came to be labelled Patong's 'Mr Big,' Khun Prab said: ''Many people know me but i don't know them. I am not a powerful person and I consult with everybody, including the law. People get the wrong impression.''

Is he going to follow his father into local politics? ''I am not interested in politics. I prefer to be an adviser within the community. I don't need special power to push them. Normally I'm very easy to get on with and a small person.''

He said that in his research for his PhD, he'd interviewed vendors and touts. ''Some say they pay money but they never can quite say who gets it,'' he said.