PM vows purge on weapons smuggling

Expect no mercy, he tells military people

Stricter measures must be implemented to crack down on weapons smuggling and be applied to all involved, whether they be military personnel or not, says Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha.

Deputy Prime Minister Prawit Wongsuwon has told investigators to identify the mastermind behind a weapons trafficking operation, smuggling arms from Thailand to Myanmar, his deputy Gen Udomdej Sitabutr said yesterday.

Army chief Chalermchai Sittisart also yesterday vowed to take stern action against 12 servicemen allegedly involved in a weapons smuggling racket.

Two arrests involving military servicemen and the smuggling of weapons and ammunition occurred last week.

On Friday, police seized six M67 grenades, two M26 grenades and 100 bullets found in three parcels handled by Kerry Express at its delivery centre in Bangkok’s Bang Khen district. Among 19 suspects currently held in the case are 12 servicemen and seven civilians.

Deputy government spokeswoman Taksada Sangkachantra, quoting the prime minister, said all vehicles must be examined at checkpoints, not matter if they bear a military insignia or not.

Although Gen Chalermchai said Sgt Thanakorn Boonkarn, of the 1st Engineer Battalion King’s Guard and one of those arrested in connection with Friday’s case, used his knowledge and exploited loopholes to sell military ammunition via social media, the prime minister said there had been no reports of military weapons going missing.

If found, people involved must face harsh punishment, Col Taksada quoted the premier.

In a separate case, Flt Sgt 1st class (FS 1) Phakhin Detphong, attached to Wing 2 in Lop Buri province, was on Saturday found with a large number of military weapons in his possession — including AK rifles, machine guns and ammunition — after his pickup truck overturned on a wet and slippery Sukhumvit Road in Trat’s Muang district.

He also serves as an intelligence official with the Internal Security Operations Command (Isoc).

Gen Chalermchai said the military has always tried to prevent personnel from engaging in criminal activities. The arrests last week provided a good opportunity to crack down on weapons smuggling in Thailand, he said.

He also said there was no connection between the smuggling and the bombings in Bangkok last month, as the explosive material found was different from that used in the bombings.

Gen Udomdej said Gen Prawit had also instructed the armed forces to step up security measures in managing their arsenals.

In the case of FS 1 Phakhin, police investigators said on Monday the seized weapons were smuggled in from Cambodia and were destined for Myanmar.

Speaking after questioning FS 1 Phakhin, deputy police chief Srivara Ransibrahmanakul said on Monday the suspect admitted buying the weapons from an unidentified Cambodian.

The weapons were to be sold to ethnic minorities in Myanmar. The suspect admitted to being an arms dealer and said he was acting alone, Pol Gen Srivara said.

First Army Region commander is Lt Gen Apirat Kongsompong said he earlier spoke with Cambodia’s 5th military region commander Bun Seng about tougher security along Thai-Cambodian border.