Wanted Suspect Impersonates Cop, Crashes Checkpoint in Chanthaburi
A wanted suspect impersonating a police officer broke through a Chanthaburi checkpoint on a motorcycle and escaped after a 10-kilometer chase in the early hours of July 31, prompting an intensified manhunt across the region.
At 12:49 a.m. on July 31, 2025, a man impersonating a police officer on a motorcycle broke through the Baan Khao Lam joint security checkpoint in Chachang Subdistrict, Soi Dao District, Chanthaburi, heading toward Sa Kaew Province. Officers pursued the suspect for more than 10 kilometers, but he used his familiarity with the local area to escape into a side soi. Investigation confirmed the suspect was a wanted person.
Deputy Superintendent Yingyong Buppahom, commanding officer of the Baan Khao Lam checkpoint (a joint operation between police, Royal Thai Marines, and Border Patrol Police Company 114), reported that while conducting routine checkpoint operations, two men on a motorcycle approached matching an earlier alert. The driver was dressed as a police officer wearing an overlay shirt and an official police hat to deceive officers. When signaled to stop for inspection, the officers quickly recognized the suspects as Thanat ("Ai Bpong") and Thamchai ("Nai Thong"), both wanted by Pattaya Provincial Court in connection with the mysterious disappearance of two Russian siblings and a motorcycle dismantling case in Chon Buri Province.
Realizing he had been identified, the suspect accelerated and sped through the checkpoint toward Sa Kaew Province. Officers gave chase for over 10 kilometers, but the suspect turned into connecting sois and disappeared from view. Near the checkpoint, officers recovered an official police hat that the suspect had dropped approximately 100 meters from the checkpoint and logged it as evidence.
Police Regional Commander Phudungsak Raksuk convened an urgent meeting with commanding officers and investigation teams from all police stations in the area to coordinate an intensified manhunt. Police believe the suspects may be using secondary roads, village routes, natural passages, and local plantations to avoid checkpoints, and suspect they may attempt to flee across the border into Cambodia through natural channels. Police warned the public that several social media videos circulating about the incident contain false information, including old clips and unverified details.
