FOUR MEN from Far-South provinces were arrested in Phang Nga while taking four AK-47 assault rifles and some ammunition to Phuket today (March 23), Naewna newspaper said.
Pol. Maj. Gen. Somchai Suetortrakul, commander of Phang Nga provincial police, said the four suspects, Mr. Zulaffal, 28, from Narathiwat, Mr. Saowarus, 27, from Pattani, Mr. Abdul Romar, 49, from Pattani and Mr. Faisal, 28, from Yala were arrested at a checkpoint on Phang Nga-Thap Put road while driving a pickup truck and a sedan.
One of the four suspects was later found to have been linked to the southern border unrest group.
Police noticed suspicious behaviour so asked to search their vehicles and found the four AK-47 assault rifles with 369mm barrel length and nine AK-47 7.62mm bullets in a magazine, altogether 54 bullets, hidden in a white sack behind the rear passenger seat of the pickup truck.
The four suspects confessed that they were heading to deliver the war weapons in Phuket after receiving them at Hat Yai district, Songkhla province, and were paid 70,000 baht to do so.
The person who hired them had told them that he would let them know where to drop off the weapons once they reached Phang Nga but they got arrested before that.
Currently, Police Regions 8 and 9 are conducting an in-depth investigation to determine whether the group is involved in the southern border insurgency or has committed other crimes.
The firearms are being sent to Forensic Science Centre 10 for examination with this centre able to quickly verify whether they had been used in incidents in the southern border area.
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The war weapons that were seized in Phang Nga today, March 23, 2025. Photos: Naewna
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