Man caught with war weapons and 8,000+ rounds in Samut Sakhon
Police have apprehended a man in possession of seven war weapons and over 8,000 rounds of ammunition during a raid in the Krathum Baen district of Samut Sakhon.
The arrest took place on the night of January 24 when officers from the Metropolitan Police Bureau (MPB) and local Samut Sakhon police detained 28 year old Phatthakorn at his residence in tambon Don Deekai. He faces charges of illegal possession of weapons and ammunition, according to Police Major General Noppasil Poolsawat, deputy MPB commissioner.
Items confiscated from the property included one M79 rifle, six AK rifles, 17 magazines, and approximately 8,500 rounds of ammunition.
Police Major General Noppasil revealed that MPB detectives had been monitoring a significant weapons trading gang for an extended period. An earlier search of Phatthakorn’s property had not yielded any results, he noted.
The suspect was previously charged with illegal gun possession in a separate case in Sai Noi district, Nonthaburi, added the deputy MPB commissioner.
On the night of the arrest, police received information that the gang was preparing to transport weapons. Officers conducted surveillance at the suspect’s house in Samut Sakhon, where two suspect vehicles were parked. A search revealed a substantial cache of weapons and ammunition.
During interrogation, the suspect admitted to smuggling weapons and ammunition from Aranyaprathet in Sa Kaeo, near the Cambodian border, storing them in Krathum Baen before their distribution to other areas. He claimed to receive a payment of 20,000 baht (US$595) for each smuggling operation, reported Bangkok Post.
Police Major General Noppasil stated that the investigation would continue to identify the operation’s mastermind.
In related news, a former police officer was apprehended for modifying and assembling BB gun parts into firearms capable of shooting live ammunition and selling them upon request. On January 15, police from Sai Noi district, Nonthaburi province, arrested 55 year old former Border Patrol Police officer, Manut Wongsuwan.
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