Daring cannabis vendor chases fleeing client, gets shot while leaping from speeding pickup (video)
A cannabis vendor in the central province of Nakhon Pathom jumped onto the back of a speeding pickup to demand payment from his fleeing client. The ganja thief then shot the vendor in the leg after he leapt from the moving vehicle.
Officers from Pho Kaew Police Station rushed to investigate the shooting scene in front of Soi Tessaban in the Sam Parn district of Nakhon Pathom and discovered 27 year old Thanatsak Praphaporn, who sustained a gunshot wound to his leg.
Following medical treatment, Thanatsak cooperated with the police and provided a detailed account of the incident. He revealed that he worked as a cannabis vendor and received an order from a man he met on Facebook.
After agreeing on the product and its associated cost, the client visited Thanatsak’s shop to collect the cannabis. However, the client refused to pay and fled the shop in a white Isuzu D-Max. Thanatsak jumped onto the back of the pickup and knocked on the rear window to tell the driver to stop.
Thanatsak eventually decided to disengage and jumped off the moving vehicle. Unexpectedly, the driver opened the car window and shot him.
Officers are now reviewing CCTV footage nearby the scene to track down the gunman driving the pickup.
A similar incident was reported at the beginning of this month in Phuket when two foreigners were caught as they attempted to steal cannabis from a pharmacy. Their acts were captured by the security cameras. One of them distracted the seller by talking with her at the counter, while another grabbed the products and put them in his shoulder bag.
However, the thief accidentally dropped the stolen goods on the floor giving the game away. They returned the products to the pharmacy and did not face any charges.
In February, the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) reported that Thailand was the fifth most expensive country in Asia offering cannabis. The report further emphasised that due to stringent control laws, seven out of the top ten most expensive marijuana prices in the world are found in Asia.
However, a report on Prachachat contradicted that saying the price dropped after legalisation of the drug. The fresh leaves that used to make 5,000 to 6,000 baht per kilogramme were reduced to 500 to 1,000 baht depending on the species.
