Silence is golden: Aussie cuffed over stash of illegal gun gear
Raids, rifles and warrants pile up as foreign suspects face growing heat in Thailand
An Aussie man landed himself in hot water after Thai police uncovered a secret stash of illegal gun silencers, rifles and thousands of bullets during a dramatic house raid in Udon Thani.
On June 18, Police Colonel Apirak Champasri, Superintendent of the 1st Division, Technology Crime Suppression Division 3, led officers armed with a search warrant from Udon Thani Provincial Court to a property in Ban Phue District.
Police had been tipped off that a large consignment of illegal firearm silencers had been ordered and was being stored at the home.
During the raid, officers were met by Athitaya, who identified herself as the house occupant, and Adam, an Australian national living at the property.
A sweep of the house turned up three black rifles, three black silencers, and a staggering 3,500 rounds of ammunition of unknown calibre.
The Australian man reportedly confessed to owning four silencers and admitted to ordering them online.
Officers wasted no time slapping charges on both Adam and Athitaya for “jointly possessing firearms without permission from the local registrar and possessing weapons without authorisation from the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Defence,” under Thailand’s strict Weapons Control Act.
Both suspects, along with the weaponry haul, were hauled off to Ban Tueam Police Station for further legal proceedings, Channel 7 News reported.
It’s just the latest incident involving Australians and illegal firearms in the kingdom.
Back in May, another Aussie fugitive was snared at Suvarnabhumi Airport after arriving from Bali. He was flagged by biometric checks while trying to board a connecting flight to Phuket.
Officials revealed the man was banned from re-entering Thailand and was the subject of an active arrest warrant from Phuket Provincial Court dated May 2, 2025. He was wanted for “robbery with or using a firearm” and “using a vehicle to commit an offence.”
And in April, 31 year old Lachlan James McGahey was arrested on Bangla Road, Patong, during a routine police patrol at 3.40am.
Cops say McGahey was carrying a Thai-made .38-calibre handgun loaded with eight PMC rounds.
Thailand’s crackdown on illegal firearms, especially in the hands of foreign nationals, is clearly gaining momentum, and the message is loud and clear: silence won’t save you.
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