Crime Volunteer Officer Caught Smuggling Illegal Migrants, Carrying Government-Issued Firearm

[Georgealbert]

 

Picture courtesy of Daily News.

 

Highway police in Chana District, Songkhla, intercepted a pickup truck carrying 12 undocumented Myanmar nationals on 20 July and were shocked to discover the driver was a volunteer defence officer (Or Sor) armed with a government-issued handgun.

 

Under orders from Pol. Col. Intharat Panya, commander of Highway Police Division 7, the arrest was carried out by Pol. Lt. Col. Warisorn Matcha and officers from Chana Highway Police Station. The silver Toyota pickup, which bore no registration plates and had heavily tinted windows, was stopped at a red light near Chana clock tower on the Asia Highway in Ban Na subdistrict.

 

Inside the vehicle, police found 36-year-old Saichon Boonsanong, a volunteer security officer from Raman District in Yala province, behind the wheel. Officers also discovered that he was carrying a 9mm government-issued pistol loaded with 11 rounds.

 

Travelling with him were Theerawat Kongthong (36) and Khanittha Kondam (39), a couple, along with three mobile phones. Four Myanmar women were crammed into the front passenger cabin, while eight Myanmar men were found in the covered bed of the truck, accompanied by their luggage.

 

Police found that only one of the twelve Myanmar nationals had a valid passport, while the rest had no documentation and had entered the kingdom illegally. Nine of them were carrying train tickets from Krung Thep Aphiwat Central Terminal in Bangkok to Hat Yai, indicating recent arrival.

 

Investigations revealed that the pickup truck was registered to Thanakorn Sai-Ngu, who police suspect of being a broker involved in trafficking migrant workers.

 

Saichon denied involvement in people smuggling, claiming a friend had merely asked him to drive the vehicle. However, further inquiry revealed that Theerawat and Khanittha were adopted children of Thanakorn and admitted being paid 500 baht each to assist in transporting the group. The workers were picked up from two locations: nine from Hat Yai Junction railway station and three from outside Khuan Lang Temple. Their intended destination was Yala province.

 

Highway police became suspicious of the pickup after noticing it had no front license plate and that multiple people were crammed into the back. Officers followed the vehicle and intercepted it at the Chana clock tower intersection.

 

All Thai nationals involved were charged with “harbouring or aiding illegal migrants to avoid arrest, knowing they had entered the kingdom unlawfully.” Saichon faces additional charges for “carrying a firearm in a public place without permission or due necessity.” The 11 undocumented migrants were charged with “being foreign nationals present in the kingdom without legal authorisation.” Police also intend to summon Thanakorn Sai-Ngu for questioning and potential prosecution.

 

 

  Adapted by Asean Now from Daily News 2025-07-22