Customs Officers Seize 600kg Bomb-making Chemical

[george]

Customs officers seize 600kg of bomb-making chemical

SONGKHLA: -- Customs officers in Thailand's southern business district of Hat Yai in Songkhla Province today seized over 600 kilograms of sodium chlorate - a chemical commonly used in explosives - found lying abandoned by a roadside.

Each weighing 25 kilograms, the 25 bags of the dangerous chemical were found at the entrance to the Thung Lung Market.

Locals who were questioned denied all knowledge of where it had come from.

Although sodium chlorate has legitimate industrial uses, in Thailand there is a ban on its import, export and possession, as the government is fearful that it could fall into the wrong hands and be used to make explosives.

Mr. Wonawat Thassanasathien, head of the 4th regional Customs Prevention and Suppression Division, said that customs officials were already aware that attempts were being made to smuggle dangerous chemicals into the kingdom, with the intention of making explosives to be used in militant attacks in the southern border region.

He speculated that the owner of the sodium chlorate had abandoned it in order to avoid arrest.

--TNA 2005-06-03