Pol Maj Gen Tesa Siriwato told The Phuket News today (Jan 11), “We have arrested 17 people so far in connection with the riots at Thalang Police Station. Most of those arrested are teenagers who were initially arrested on drug charges.
“They will remain in custody and after their drug cases have been cleared they will further be charged with setting an illegal blockade and gathering 10 or more people together for violent acts and other charges regarding the incident.
“We have 86 arrest warrants out for suspects involved in the riots and I don't think more warrants will be issue because the evidence we have is clear,” he said.
The riots occurred when local residents reacted to the deaths of two suspected teen drug dealers who were being chased by police and resulted in millions of bahts worth of damage to government and public property.