Bangkok —
An Illegal online firearm dealer was arrested on attempted murder charges at a gas station in the Phawet area, Bangkok.
On October 10th, 2023, the Thai Central Investigation Bureau (CIB) unit captured a young man identified only as Mr. Chanachon, 19-years-old, on an arrest warrant from the Minburi Criminal Court. The arrest warrant accuses Chanachon of conspiring to attempt murder of another, possessing firearms without proper authorization, and carrying firearms in a city without just cause.
This is part of an ongoing nationwide crackdown on illegal firearms, as seen below.
Read about National-Scale Operation in Thailand Targets Illegal Weapons in 47 Provinces here.
As for the details of the accusations in the arrest warrant, on August 30th, 2023, a suspect later identified as Mr. Chanachon was shooting from his vehicle at a group of teenagers gathering at a gas station in the Prawet area, Bangkok. However, the intended shots missed and stray bullets hit and severely injured an unidentified innocent employee who works at the gas station.
During the investigation, the CIB team discovered that Mr. Chanachon was an admin on a social media page that was selling illegal firearms. He also often had a habit of using firearms to threaten people and had been arrested for possession of firearms and narcotic substances in the past.
Mr. Chanachon reportedly confessed to CIB police officers that he committed the aforementioned crime and was later escorted to Prawet Police Station for legal proceedings.
