Navy Seizes Two AK-47s In Weapons Smuggling Bust From Cambodia

Trat — Naval officers raced in speedboats to intercept a weapons trafficking network smuggling military arms from Cambodia, arresting three suspects and seizing two AK-47 rifles and large quantities of ammunition. On August 22, Sub-Lieutenant Phitthak Kitti of Laem Ngop Naval Police Station received coordination from the Royal Thai Navy's First Naval Area Command Intelligence Division that illegal military weapons would be smuggled from a neighboring country into Laem Ngop District via speedboat through Chang Channel.

Phitthak planned an arrest operation, deploying Ensign Ratchasit Plai Kong, commander of Laem Ngop Naval Police station, with a crew of three in speedboats to intercept at Waterfall Tharmaiyom Pier in South Chang Island, Chang District, Trat Province. At 5:00 p.m., the intelligence team radioed that a suspected speedboat had entered Chang Channel. Officers pursued and coordinated with the police team stationed at Direck Pier in Klongai Subdistrict, Laem Ngop District, to intercept. The suspects, recognizing they were being chased, accelerated toward Direck Pier where plainclothes naval officers were waiting.

At 6:26 p.m., the speedboat arrived at the pier and officers arrested three suspects: two men and one woman. A preliminary search found two AK-47 rifles and large quantities of ammunition packed in fertilizer bags containing metal boxes of cartridges, awaiting explosive ordnance disposal personnel to open them safely.

Ensign Ratchasit reported he received orders to intercept the suspect vessel near Waterfall Tharmaiyom Bridge in the afternoon and await communication from the naval intelligence unit. At 5:00 p.m., he received a radio alert and began pursuit when the speedboat passed at high speed, coordinating with the Direck Pier team. The arrest was completed at 6:26 p.m.

Sub-Lieutenant Phitthak said the operation followed intelligence from informants tracking weapons trafficking networks along the Thai-Cambodian border. Intelligence indicated military weapons would be transported by sea from a neighboring country to Direck Pier in Klongai Subdistrict, Laem Ngop District. After locating the route and timing, officers arrested the three Trat Province suspects, though investigators are still determining the final destination. The source is from a neighboring country.

Phitthak noted this likely represents part of a larger trafficking network or criminal organization, as sea transport was chosen because land borders are sealed. The Laem Ngop pier route requires passing through only one security checkpoint, or suspects could bypass security entirely through other routes. Officers found a red SUV with license plate number Kor 2739 from Trat. At 8:00 p.m., Sub-Lieutenant Phitthak and naval officers took the three suspects and seized weapons to the police station for further investigation.