Couple & Accomplices Abduct & Murder Man in Drug Dispute

Pictures courtesy of Khaosod.

Police have uncovered a brutal murder case in Nakhon Si Thammarat, after the body of a man linked to the drug trade was found buried in cement on a hillside.

The victim, identified as 31-year-old Patipon Pitak, known locally as “Film Laksang”, was reported missing by relatives on 17 July. He is believed to have been abducted and killed after defaulting on payment for 42,000 methamphetamine tablets.

Following an extensive investigation, officers from Chang Klang Police Station, supported by provincial and regional units, raided the homes of the primary suspects, a husband-and-wife duo, in Chang Klang Subdistrict. The couple had fled, but on the night of 27 August, police arrested five suspects in Kuraburi District, Phang Nga Province.

The next morning, investigators and forensic teams, guided by the suspects, discovered the victim’s remains on the slopes of Hill Na Hem in Village No. 12, Chang Klang Subdistrict. The body had been placed in a sack, bound with rope, covered in cement and buried 1.5 metres underground.

Excavation took more than an hour before police recovered the decomposed remains. The body was later sent to Nakhon Si Thammarat Hospital for a full post-mortem examination.

During searches of the suspects’ homes, police seized 19 items of evidence linked to the case, including motorcycles, helmets, mobile phones, SIM cards, firearms and CCTV equipment.

Investigators believe the suspects lured Patipon to their residence, where he was attacked, rendered unconscious and later killed. His body was then disposed of in a calculated attempt to conceal the crime.

Police have described the killing as a violent fallout from disputes within a local drug trafficking network. The investigation remains ongoing as officers work to trace additional accomplices and dismantle the wider operation.

  Adapted by Asean Now from Khaosod 2025-08-29