Guns, drugs seized in police anti-crime blitz

The news was announced at Provincial Police Region 8 headquarters at Tha Chatchai, at the northern tip of the island,yesterday evening (Jan 11).

Region 8 Police are responsible for overseeing police operations in seven provinces of Upper Southern Thailand: Phuket, Phang Nga, Krabi, Ranong, Surat Thani, Chumphon and Nakhon Sri Thammarat.

Present to announce the results of the campaign, held Dec 19-23, was Pol Maj Gen Wanchai Ekaphonphit, Deputy Commissioner of the Region 8 Police.

Maj Gen Wanchai said the campaign was conducted as part of “preparations to open the country to welcome tourists on the the two coasts, of Andaman Sea and the Gulf of Thailand, to build confidence and faith among the people and tourists”.

The ‘search-and-seize operation’ targetted influential people, firearms, drugs, explosives, prostitution and car thefts, he said.

Search warrants were used to target “guest rooms, guesthouses, villas, resorts, all forms of crime syndicates that affect people and tourists”, Maj Gen Wanchai added.

The campaign identified more than 517 target cases in the seven provinces of Region 8 Police jurisdiction, he continued.

The breakdown tally of target cases per province was: Surat Thani 112 cases, Nakhon Sri Thammarat 88 cases, Chumphon 79 cases, Krabi 75 cases, Phuket 66 cases, Phang Nga 54 cases and Ranong 43 cases.

A total of 619 suspects were arrested, with DNA samples collected from 415 suspects, Maj Gen Wanchai confirmed.

In total, 377 of the arrests were related to narcotics. Many of the arrests were also related to firearms, with 88 firearms and 1,199 rounds of ammunition seized, he said.

Nakhon Sri Thammarat province saw 32 guns seized followed by Surat Thani province with 19 guns and Chumphon province with 14 guns, he added.

Seventy-one of the arrests related to outstanding arrest warrants, he noted.

“It is the policy of national police chief Pol Gen Damrongsak Kittipraphat handed down on October 1, 2022, through deputy national police chief Pol Gen Surachate Hakparn and [subsequently through] Region 8 Police Commander Lt Gen Surapong Thanomjit, for the police to take action to build confidence and faith in the safety of life and property for local people and tourists to support the opening of the country and the 2023 New Year festival, especially in important tourist areas where foreign tourists and Thai people prefer to travel,” Maj Gen Wanchai said.

“There have been continual and serious raids in the area of Region 8 Police to make the southern tourist areas of Thailand safer from various crimes, and ready to welcome tourists, and reduce crime in the area for people to live in peace,” he concluded.