Weapons seized in Kathu

KATHU: Four men were arrested yesterday after a routine inspection of their pickup at the Phra Barami Rd vehicle control point uncovered four pistols, ammunition, a walkie-talkie and two pairs of latex gloves.

Tung Tong Police Deputy Inspector for Crime Suppression Pol Capt Wiwut Chumnankit said police pulled over the red-gray Mitsubishi pickup, with a Phuket license plate, at the checkpoint about 1 am as it headed toward Phuket City.

A search of the vehicle found 27-year-old Seksan Sirivutcharaporn, from Chanthaburi, in possession of a 9mm Czech CZ pistol.

A subsequent search of the truck’s cabin turned up another 9mm automatic pistol, a .38 revolver and a .32 automatic pistol, all hidden in a bag along with a spare magazine of 15 rounds of 9mm ammunition. All of the weapons were loaded. Only the revolver was registered.

Police also seized an Icom-brand walkie-talkie and two pairs of latex gloves.

The other three suspects were identified as Apidej Tometin, 28, of Chanthaburi; Suriyun Rattanakunsart, 25, of Bangkok; Jirut Kaewkun, 47, of Chonburi.

Jirut produced a card identifying himself as a police officer responsible for security at Parliament House in Bangkok. An initial background check by police confirmed that Jirut had once been a police officer stationed at Parliament.

All four men were taken into custody and are now in the cells at Tung Tong Police station, where they face charges of carrying unregistered weapons and ammunition in public and possession of restricted communications equipment without a permit.

Tung Tong Police Station Deputy Superintendent Pol Lt Col Vitun Kongsudjai said the men would be investigated further to determine why they were driving around Phuket at night with the firearms.

None of the four had ever been involved in an illegal shooting incident, he added.