2 police killed, 3 others injured during arrest of drug offenders in Narathiwat
Two police officers were killed and three others injured after officers came under gunfire while attempting to arrest drug offenders at a palm plantation in Narathiwat yesterday, August 2.
The Narathiwat police shooting occurred when officers from Tak Bai Police Station raided a small cottage in a palm plantation in the Praiwan subdistrict of Tak Bai district following a tip-off that drug offenders were using the location as a hideout.
According to police, one of the suspects opened fire on the officers during the operation before fleeing the scene.
Police Sergeant Amran Ha and Police Senior Sergeant Major Wittaya Chaipromkaew were fatally wounded in the exchange. Amran sustained multiple gunshot wounds to the chest and body, while Wittaya was shot several times.
Three other officers were injured. They were identified as Police Corporal Traithot Kunsanthawasri, Police Senior Sergeant Major Wannuchit Saekhor and Police Lieutenant Kittipong Srikham.
All five officers were initially taken to Tak Bai Hospital before the injured personnel were transferred to Narathiwat Ratchanakarin Hospital for further treatment.
Police said the gunman escaped by firing additional shots. Investigators believe the suspect was familiar with the plantation and surrounding area, allowing him to evade capture.
During the operation, officers arrested three other suspects at the cottage. They admitted they had been staying at the hideout. The three were taken into custody for further questioning.
Provincial Police Region 9 Commissioner Police Lieutenant General Piyawat ordered additional officers to the area and requested support from military and administrative officials to search the plantation and nearby locations. Police believe the fugitive may still be hiding in the area.
Authorities declared the operation zone a restricted area and prohibited residents and members of the media from entering while the search continues.
In a similar case last July, a police officer was killed while conducting a routine patrol near a convenience store in Yala province. The identity of the gunman was not disclosed at the time.
In April of the same year, a police officer in Loei was fatally shot by a suspected drug offender. Authorities later found the suspected gunman’s body floating in a river along the Thailand-Laos border about one week before the officer’s death.
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