South Thailand News
Southern Thailand news, Phuket news, Koh Samui news, and Krabi updates—stay informed on business, tourism, and local events from Trang, Songkhla, Yala, and beyond. Get the latest from The Thaiger, your trusted Southern Thailand news source.
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Volunteer ranger shot dead in Yala
Police report that a volunteer ranger has been shot dead by a gunman on a motorcycle in the Raman district of the southern border province of Yala this morning. According to a radio report called into the Thathong police station, the attack occurred about 8:45am in front of Prachanukroh 41 School on the Kotabaru-Thung Yang Daeng road. Witnesses say 43…
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Man arrested for repeatedly raping stepdaughter in Nakhon Si Thammarat
Police in southern Thailand have arrested a 38 year old man and charged him with the repeated rape of his young stepdaughter, along with illegal drug use. Officers of the Anti-Trafficking in Persons Division and local police arrested the man at his house in Nakhon Si Thammarat province yesterday. The arrest follows a complaint filed by the girl’s grandmother. She…
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One drowned, another still missing off Surat Thani
One person is still missing, one has been recovered and another person has drowned after a search for coastal molluscs and cockles went wrong in Surat Thani yesterday. A woman was reported as being washed out to sea and her daughter-in-law is still missing, while collecting molluscs at a Laem Pho beach in Chaiya district, north in Surat Thani province. There…
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2 arrested in Narathiwat with 1,420 kilograms of meth – VIDEO
Police in the southern province of Narathiwat, on the Malaysian border, arrested 2 men and seized and 1,420 kilograms of crystal methamphetamine hidden in a trailer truck in Tak Bai district in the early hours of this morning. A team of police, soldiers and local officials was sent to Padador village in tambon Na Nak following a tip that a…
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Police arrest 3, find 250 kilograms of crystal meth in truck in southern Thailand
Police arrested 3 people involved in drug operations after stopping a 10 wheel truck at a security checkpoint and finding 250 kilograms of crystal methamphetamine, or ice, hidden in 12 fertiliser sacks. That is a very large seizure of the crystal form of methamphetamine. The lorry driver, Koseng Cheha, was arrested at the checkpoint in Songkhla in southern Thailand. Cheha…
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Police arrest former security guard who robbed his workplace
Police arrested a man allegedly involved in decade-old burglaries. A group of security guards robbed a factory where they worked and have been hiding from police since 2007. The 44 year old man known as Tuk-Kae was arrested in southern Thailand’s Nakhon Si Thammarat province. Police say they hope the arrest will lead to new information about where the other…
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Police arrest man for robbery on 4 year old warrant
A man who allegedly posed as a police officer and stole a motorbike was arrested in Nakhon Si Thammarat, Southern Thailand after being on the run for nearly 4 years. There’s been a warrant for his arrest since 2016 for robbery charges. The 32 year old man, Thai media reports as ‘Beer’, along with 3 of his friends, allegedly stole…
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Dozens arrested in money laundering and drugs case
61 people have been arrested in one of Thailand’s biggest money laundering cases of the year, said to be worth more than 10 billion baht. The suspects are believed to be part of a drug syndicate and money laundering network, allegedly run by a 45 year old Chinese man identified as “Chien Ma,” who was caught earlier in Bangkok. Provincial…
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Woman injured after falling through broken drain cover in Trang
A woman has injured her leg after slipping through a broken drain cover in the southern city of Trang. The woman, named only as “Ms B” was on her way home from a restaurant in the city when her right left slipped through a gap in the drain cover as she was walking to her car. Her leg, which was…
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Officials investigate the illegal logging of 36 rai in Narathiwat
In Southern Thailand, 36 rai (about 14 acres) of forest on the Sankalakhiri mountain range has been cleared illegally by encroachers. The incident happened in the Chanae district. Director of the intelligence office of the Region 4 Internal Security Operations Command, acting on information from concerned villagers, ordered soldiers and officials to check on the alleged encroachment high up in the mountain…
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Police arrest man for running motorbike theft operation
The leader of an alleged motorbike-stealing gang was arrested yesterday in Southern Thailand. Police also seized 16 motorbikes that had been stolen from various districts in Nakhon Si Thammarat. Udomchai Sukyoi, who went by the name Sua Om, was arrested at a hotel in the province. Police found vehicle registration books, which Sukyoi allegedly kept as collateral while gang members…
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3 killed, 2 injured in Nakhon Si Thammarat crash
3 people have been killed, one an 11 year old girl, and 2 others seriously injured, after the pick-up they were travelling in collided with a roadside tree. They were all from the same family, driving in a Ford Ranger heading to a family burial. Police say the pickup they were travelling in ran off the road, hitting a roadside tree…
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Jilted uni student throws acid on ex girlfriend
A university student in Thailand’s southern Songkhla province has been arrested today and charged with physical assault and possessing a fake gun, after he splashed acid on his former girlfriend for rejecting him. 18 year old Nong Thawibboonphonwent went to see his 20 year old ex-girlfriend Rattiyakorn (surname withheld), around 10:30 last night at the convenience store where she works,…
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Injured whale shark looks for help from divers – VIDEO
Video footage of a huge whale shark swimming toward a diving instructor while showing its tail that was caught in a rope has gone viral on the internet. The encounter took place near Koh Pha Ngan in the southern Surat Thani province last Saturday. A 3 metre long whale shark, injured by a rope tightening around its tail, swam toward…
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PM, police issue warning to biker gangs, threaten renewed curfew
In a press briefing yesterday, the assistant national police chief issued a stern warning against “dek waen” (biker gangs), who have returned to the roads of Bangkok and some provinces after the national curfew was lifted Sunday. On Monday, PM Prayut Chan-o-cha issued a warning saying the government will reimpose the curfew if people fail to cooperate with Covid-19 control…
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Ranong slot machine. ATM glitch gives customers 10 times more cash.
An ATM in southern Thailand turned into a very generous slot machine as lucky customers were getting 10 times the amount they had asked to withdrew. One person withdrew 2,700 baht, but the machine handed out 27,000. Another withdrew 1,200 baht and got 12,000. Some people filed a report and handed the money immediately over to Ranong police over the…
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6 major zoos, 127 national parks to reopen tomorrow in Thailand
Starting Monday, 6 of Thailand’s major zoos will reopen for visitors free of charge, and 127 of the country’s 155 national parks are also set to open their doors again. The minister of natural resources and environment told a press briefing that Chon Buri’s Khao Kheow Open Zoo, Chiang Mai Zoo, Nakhon Ratchasima Zoo, Songkhla Zoo, Khon Kaen Zoo, Ubon…
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Surat Thani fishermen want government intervention in “cockle war”
Cockles – and Thailand’s “cockle wars” – are back in the news this week. Fishermen in the southern Surat Thani province are calling for clearer guidelines on cockle catches, as their conflict with shellfish farmers drags on despite intervention from provincial authorities. Last Wednesday, a man rode in on his jet ski, firing a gun as some 300 fisherman raided…
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Man rides in on jet ski, fires shots as hundreds raid his illegal shellfish farm – VIDEO
Like a scene in an action movie, a man rode in on his jet ski, firing a gun in the air as around 300 other fisherman raided his illegal shellfish farm off the Phunphin coast in Surat Thani. Apparently fishermen have been at ‘Cockle Wars’ for a while, with some claiming ownership to parts of the Gulf of Thailand near…
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Husband, wife arrested after gold shop heist in southern Thailand
A husband and wife have been arrested for robbing a gold shop in southern Thailand, running off with necklaces valued at thousands of baht. They have a 2 year old son and the wife is 7 months pregnant with their next child. They told police that they needed money to support their family. The couple re-enacted the gold shop heist…
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Mother, pregnant woman among 5 arrested for drugs in Songkhla
A young woman carrying a baby and a pregnant woman were among 5 people caught using drugs in a raid at a rented house in Songkhla’s Thepha district. Local officials and volunteers surrounded the house after receiving a tip that people were using the property to take drugs and sell methamphetamine pills (“yaba”) and crystal methamphetamine (“ya ice”) to young…
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Monkeys drown in water tank after food and water shortage
15 monkeys were found dead in a water tank yesterday in Songkhla, near the Malaysian border. The province’s long-tailed macaque monkeys are facing a food shortage due to the lack of tourists in the area. Officials say the monkeys found yesterday must have been thirsty when they jumped in the 3 metre deep tank and drowned. There hasn’t been much rain in…
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Woman in southern Thailand accused of murdering daughter
A 54 year old woman, named by police as Prateep Chindawong, has been arrested for the murder of her 29 year old daughter in the southern province of Nakhon Si Thammarat. Police say Chonthicha Jindawong was stabbed to death with a screwdriver. Thai media reports say the accused had claimed her house was broken into and that the intruder killed…
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National Covid-19 figures with 1 additional death (June 2)
Today the Centre of Covid-19 Administration reported 1 new Covi-19 case and 1 addition death in Thailand. This takes the total number of infections to 3,085 and the accumulated death toll to 58. The additional fatality was an 80 year old Thai man living in Narathiwat and the latest patient was a 32 year old male student who had recently…
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Suspect in Phattalung murder commits suicide as police close in
A murder suspect in Thailand’s southern Trang province committed suicide as police moved to arrest him yesterday. Authorities say he was one of three gunmen in the murder of a driver in neighbouring Phatttalung province last year. 40 year old Haron Usen was hiding out with his girlfriend in a house in tambon Bang Sak. Provincial and local police surrounded…
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Transport Company interprovincial bus services to the South remain suspended
Transport Company, Thailand’s interprovincial bus company, announced this week that it is continuing its suspension of all services to the southern provinces as the country will be under the state of emergency until June 30. It did not say when services will resume. The company was expected to resume services from Bangkok to Koh Samui, Phuket and Trang from June…
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Thai actress allegedly scams Chinese businessman out of 2.5 million baht
A Thai actress allegedly tricked a Chinese businessman out of 2.5 million baht. Nation Thailand reports the woman worked with a gang to pose as high government officials who could help him with his business dealings. The businessman finally made a complaint with police yesterday at the Pak Khlong San Police Station in southern Thailand. The Nation reports he was…
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Son stabs father multiple times in Nakhon Si Thammarat
A father was stabbed 9 times by his son yesterday in the southern province of Nakhon Si Thammarat. The Bangkok Post reports the 25 year old son was high on drugs and acting erratic. His 53 year old father tried to calm him down, but the son took out a knife and stabbed his father multiple times. The father, a…
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Surat Thani police extortion case – police chief promises swift and thorough investigation
Police in the southern Surat Thani province have been ordered to speed up their internal investigation into allegations that 3 of their officers demanded 5 million baht from a trader to drop charges relating to the purchase of seafood from local fishermen. The report will be submitted to the National Anti-Corruption Commission. A spokesman said today that the investigation is…
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19 kilograms of crystal meth, valued around 10 million baht, seized on Thai train
2 people are in custody and 19 kilograms of crystal methamphetamine or “ya ice” has been seized after it was discovered in their bags on an express train from Bangkok to the southern province of Nakhon Si Thammarat last night. 22 year old Ekkapong Kaewsa, of Bangkok, and his female companion 23 year old Methanee Suparb from Si Sa Ket,…
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