Col Chanuchan Cholsuwat chief of Thalang Police told The Phuket News today, “Officials are gathering more information on the suspects and are planning to release the names of those they are sure were involved in the October 10 Thalang riots by the end of this month.
“We did arrest one suspect by chance a few weeks ago. He was a 16-year-old boy who was found in possession of kratom leaves and it turned out he was on the wanted list. He is now being held at a juvenile detention centre,” said Col Chanuchan.
An angry mob stormed Thalang Police Station after two local men were killed in a police chase in Thalang on Oct 10. The mob grew as the hours went on, and this led to riot which resulted in B6.7mn worth of damage to property and injury to a number of officers. (See stories here and here)
So far, more than 66 warrants have been issued for suspects involved in the riots. (See story here)
“Most of the suspects on the wanted list are teenagers so we would prefer it that they surrender peacefully to avoid any conflict or violence, we want to deal with them softly.
“Investigating officers will hand their findings and release the names of those on the wanted list to community leaders, village headmen and parents to help bring these suspects in,” added Col Chanuchan.