Four arrested in Bangkok hotel after Suvarnabhumi drone scare
Four Myanmar nationals believed to be involved in operating multiple drones near Suvarnabhumi Airport were arrested yesterday evening, December 22, following a raid at a hotel in Lat Krabang.
The suspects were found in possession of 10 DJI drones after officers from Lat Krabang Police Station and Metropolitan Police Division 3 raided their hotel room yesterday. The group had checked in the previous day, just hours after reports emerged that multiple drones had disrupted activity in the airport vicinity on the night of December 21.
Authorities identified the men as 32 year old Zwe Htet Aung, 24 year old Sa Nay Lin Htet, 21 year old Kyaw Zin Hein, and 34 year old Thein Zaw. All were taken into custody, and the drones seized for further investigation.
Police believe the hotel served as a base for coordinating drone operations, though it remains unclear whether the suspects were piloting the devices during the earlier airport disruption.
Initial questioning revealed that the group had been instructed by a Myanmar national, reportedly their superior, to wait in Thailand to collect drone shipments for delivery back to Myanmar. The drones, they claimed, were to be disassembled into parts, packed into boxes, and transported via commercial passenger flights in small quantities to avoid detection.
Once across the border, the equipment would be delivered to a man named Kevin Cho, said to operate a company in Myanmar that resells the devices to the country’s military.
The arrest followed a wider investigation into drone-related disruptions near the airport, with police tracking delivery logistics to a private hotel room in Lat Krabang. Officers said the booking was made online by a man identified only as David, whose full identity remains under investigation.
The 10 drones seized were later identified as DJI FLYCart 30 models, each priced at around 500,000 baht. The total purchase, valued at 7.5 million baht including tax, was linked to a Thai national, Ratchaphon Porncheewachoti, who is currently working overseas in Oman.
Ratchaphon told authorities he had previously been contacted by Cho, a former colleague, who had asked for assistance sourcing drones from Thailand, citing their availability and lower prices compared to other markets.
Ratchaphon reportedly arranged the purchase through a company based in Nonthaburi, where he had previously placed similar orders. Company staff confirmed that he had bought drones on two or three prior occasions, typically in batches of three or four units.
In this case, the drones were scheduled for delivery on December 18 but were delayed until December 21, when the handover was made to a private delivery service instructed to bring the shipment to the hotel.
Thairath reported that immigration police are now working to revoke the visas of the four Myanmar nationals and detain them at an immigration holding centre as the investigation continues. Authorities are also awaiting Ratchaphon’s return from Oman to present evidence and assist with further questioning.
In another drone-related incident, a tourist’s late-night drone flight over Pattaya’s Walking Street landed him in handcuffs for breaking aviation laws.
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