Ex-military man turns himself in for fatal case of mistaken identity in milk trailer shoot-out

In a shocking turn of events, a woman who drove a milk transport trailer was brutally gunned down in a tragic case of mistaken identity.

An ex-military personnel, assigned to the Thung Song area in Nakhon Si Thammarat, turned himself in and confessed to being the gunman, in lieu of a mercenary fee. However, he had targeted the wrong person. The police are now intensifying their search for one more suspect involved in this crime.

In the early hours of yesterday, a truck transporting milk to Malaysia was ambushed. The female truck driver referred to as Lalinya tragically lost her life. The truck was attacked on Asia Route 41, Southbound, Na Bon, Nakhon Si Thammarat. It was later revealed that the actual target was her husband, 41 year old Susawad, who was also present but survived as he was resting at the back.

Police officer Chaiypat Srirueng and his team today reportedly detained Yuttasak, who was previously involved in the offence. He aided officials in identifying key pieces of evidence from his house. Yuttasak confessed to collaborating with another male suspect, reported KhaoSod.

Late last night, another report stated that Naphadol, a former territorial defence volunteer of Thung Song, accompanied by his lawyer, surrendered himself to Officer Chaiyapat. Naphadol confessed to carrying out the murder for a dairy transport company. He said that he was hired by his nephew Uaychai, another trailer driver who had already been arrested.

Naphadol acknowledged that he was hired for Susawad’s assassination but the attempt went wrong and, instead, Lalinya got killed. The other accused is still at large.

During questioning, Uaychai admitted that he was the one who directed Naphadol for the kill. He was paid 5,000 baht (US$144) for the job but was deducted 300 baht (US$9).

Investigators are sceptical about this revelation due to the significant scale of the operation. The search is on for the alleged mastermind behind this. The core of the motive was revealed to be a dispute in the business of milk transport to Malaysia.