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Swede’s Guns Found in Patong Storage Locker

A Swedish man is under investigation after staff at a self-storage company in Patong, Phuket, discovered five firearms and 100 rounds of ammunition inside a rented locker that had gone unpaid for more than 120 days.

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The discovery was made on 13 May 2026 after representatives of Mespace Self Storage Patong, located at the Jungceylon shopping centre on Rat Uthit 200 Pi Road in Patong, Kathu district, opened locker number 2184 to inspect its contents. Staff said the locker had been rented under the name Mr Elmi Ahmed Mohamed, a Swedish national, who had failed to pay rental fees for more than four months and could no longer be contacted.

According to Mr Kirakorn Chiewcharn, an authorised representative of the company, the locker was opened on 12 May 2026 in line with company procedures after repeated failed attempts to contact the renter. During the inspection, staff found five suspected firearms and 9mm ammunition stored inside the unit.

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Weapons are prohibited items under the storage company’s rules, prompting staff to immediately notify officers from Patong Police Station. Police investigators and officers from the station’s investigation unit later attended the scene to inspect the contents and seize the items for examination.

Police confirmed the cache included four Glock 9mm pistols and one CZ pistol, along with two boxes of 9mm ammunition containing 50 rounds each, for a total of 100 rounds. Authorities said the firearms appeared to be legally registered, but officers are continuing to examine whether the weapons were being possessed in accordance with Thai law.

The case has drawn attention to the handling of firearms by foreign nationals in Thailand and the responsibilities of self-storage operators when prohibited items are discovered on their premises. No arrests or charges have been announced at this stage.

Daily News reported that investigators are now working to establish the origin of the firearms and verify all ownership and registration records connected to the weapons. Police said further legal action would depend on the outcome of those checks.

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Pictures courtesy of Daily News

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image.png Adapted by ASEAN Now Dailynews 13 May 2026

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Ralf001 Star Member

Ralf001

Advanced Member
Just now, oslooskar said:

Thanks to some feral cat out there who cares about you.😄

Ferals have been eradicated.

BKKBike09 Gold Member

BKKBike09

Advanced Member
On 5/14/2026 at 8:54 AM, impulse said:

What does that have to do with the story at hand? Back when I arrived (2011), foreigners could buy and legally register guns. It was apparently a PITA to get approved, but I knew a few that had legal guns. I decided early on that it wasn't worth the effort. That's apparently no longer the case, since (I think) around 2016, when they banned foreign purchases. But I think they grandfathered in the existing foreigners.

If (as the OP claims) the guns were legally registered, the guy's not a tourist and wasn't on a 60 day visa exempt when he bought them.

Edit: In fact, if the guy went through the approval process, he's probably been carefully vetted.

On an aside, I've window shopped the gun store neighborhood in BKK Chinatown and my Lord, their prices are outrageous.

Prior till around 2022, foreigners with PR could still get a permit. The core requirement was to be registered in a blue household registration book (not the yellow one). Nowadays it's Thai only, but foreigners with legally registered guns can keep them. Also nowadays (at least in Bangkok), foreigners who naturalise as Thai citizens are being turned away: if you don't have a Thai sounding name and one parent who's Thai, forget it.

The guns in the locker were most likely legally registered to Thais who brought them under one of the many state-subsidised programmes to provide 'cheap' weapons to state officials: usually around half the price of a civilian sale. Those weapons have a mandatory minimum 5-year ownership period stipulated before the legal owner can sell it on. So of course there's a big incentive to say 'I lost my gun' after say 2 years (after selling it to someone off the books) and then get a new one.

The 'vetting' process to become a legal owner is really just a paper exercise (at least in Bangkok). Many of the gun shops will get the permits for the purchaser, including taking your fingerprints (the Por 3 you need to be able to buy a particular gun, ie 'a semi-automatic 9mm calibre pistol' and then the Por 4 ownership permit for the specific weapon that is purchased: all this used to cost around THB 5,000). There also used to be brokers who hung out at the DOPA licensing centre in Bangkok who would offer the same service.

BKKBike09 Gold Member

BKKBike09

Advanced Member
On 5/14/2026 at 12:49 PM, unblocktheplanet said:

Why would anybody need five pistols? Why would anybody need any guns at all in Thailand???

There's an active sport shooting scene in Thailand (IPSC, IDPA). Very common to have more than one pistol as 'Pistol A' may be competition-legal in one category but not another.

Although I doubt the bloke who put these pistols in the safety deposit box was a sports shooting aficionado.

unblocktheplanet Diamond Member

unblocktheplanet

Advanced Member
7 hours ago, Ralf001 said:

Ferals have been eradicated.

Except the two-legged variety!

Ralf001 Star Member

Ralf001

Advanced Member
26 minutes ago, unblocktheplanet said:

Except the two-legged variety!

Yeah unfortunately society is not keen on that.

oslooskar Silver Member

oslooskar

Advanced Member
On 5/16/2026 at 5:51 PM, Ralf001 said:

Ferals have been eradicated.

No, they've just relocated. I know this to be a fact because I feed at least ten of them.

Ralf001 Star Member

Ralf001

Advanced Member
2 minutes ago, oslooskar said:

No, they've just relocated. I know this to be a fact because I feed at least ten of them.

Yur not feeding the dozens I have incinerated in my burn barrel.

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