Police Kill Drug Suspect in Hut Shootout After Villagers Tip
Police in Phrae Province shot and killed a 32-year-old man after he opened fire on officers during a drug raid. The suspect, identified as Apichat, refused to surrender and was struck by return fire while attempting to flee a glass-walled hut. Authorities recovered firearms and 200 methamphetamine tablets from the scene, and no officers were injured.
According to the report, police had been acting on a tip about the suspect’s drug activities. When they arrived at the unnamed garden house in Moo 7, Ban Pin, they encountered Apichat holding a weapon inside the glass-covered hut. After repeated calls to surrender were ignored, police sealed off the area and tried to persuade him for more than an hour, assisted by local officers providing ballistic shields. As the officers advanced with the shields, Apichat fired directly at them, striking a shield. The arrest team then fired their service weapons to protect themselves and stop the threat. Once the gunfire ceased, officers entered the hut and found Apichat’s body lying dead. Examination showed a single bullet wound to his forehead, plus wounds to his elbow and legs, and he still clung to a homemade short shotgun. Further inspection uncovered a homemade long gun, another short shotgun, and 200 methamphetamine pills concealed in a document case. The case was handed over to Phrae provincial police forensic specialists, Long Hospital physicians, provincial prosecutors, Long district officials, and Poh Thong rescue volunteers for autopsy and evidence processing. Provincial police commander Pol. Lt. Gen. Krittika Phan Kasem stated that the suspect had fired first, forcing officers to return fire in self-defense; fortunately no officers were injured, only the ballistic shield showed bullet marks.
