Two foreign nationals, including a Singaporean, were arrested by the officials of Patrol and Special Operation Division for allegedly possessing guns and ammunition, in Sutthisan area of Huay Khwang district. The arrested foreigners were believed to be hoarding up the seized weapons and ammunition for the purpose of selling it further.
The Singaporean national has been identified as 26-year-old Bink, who along with an Indonesian, Aiden, was arrested from a house by the police officials during the special operation.
Weapon Smugglers Had Entered Bangkok on Student Visa
The police recovered seven handguns, 584 bullets, an M67 grenade, a KM18 smoke grenade and and two stun grenades, also called flash bangs, during the raid. The police acted on a tip off about the illegal gun sellers driving around a red colured Mercedes-Benz car. During the raid, the police found the car, owned by one of the suspects, bearing a fake licence plate and registration, reported The Straits Times.
The arrested foreigners have been charged with possession and selling of guns and explosives without licence. Bink was also charged with falsifying official government documents for the car which he owned.
During the preliminary interrogation, the arrested persons confessed to selling guns and explosives to foreign customers via Line and WeChat applications, while customers paid in bitcoin, reported the outlet.
It was also revealed that both the gun smugglers had entered the country on a student visa in 2019, They have been staying in a rented accommodation since June and paid 13,000 baht monthly.
Arrested Persons Were Asked to Destroy Guns
During the investigation, the police also found that a Singapore based customer had instructed Bink to destroy the seized guns in exchange for a 100,000 baht (S$4,350) fee, reported The Nation Thailand. Investigation has been initiated to track the Singapore based caller.
Last month the police arrested three people for illegally making and selling firearms online and seized a number of weapons including 120 guns and more than 2,200 cartridges.
The raid was conducted in a number of premises located in 39 provinces. The officials recovered 120 home-made .22 rifles, 2,216 cartridges, 82 gun barrels, nine sets of trigger and bolt mechanisms, 31 trigger guards, 39 magazines and 12 rifle stocks.
