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Police and Surin military officials seize scores of illegal arms


webfact

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It's worth mentioning how the guns get there - during Vietnam war, US Army together with CIA and Thai agencies trained and equipped locals, mainly hill tribes, along border with Cambodia and Laos as a "volunteer" border patrol guards (which remain a paramilitary force till these days). Large numbers of M79 launchers, M16 and captured AKs and RPGs were distributed, but only a few recovered after the war. Many of these guns remain hidden in their owners homes or were sold.

Many guns were also smuggled to Thailand during and after civil war in Cambodia (and it's still possible and cheap to get AK, RPG or a grenade there) or "lost" or stolen from government forces...

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It's worth mentioning how the guns get there - during Vietnam war, US Army together with CIA and Thai agencies trained and equipped locals, mainly hill tribes, along border with Cambodia and Laos as a "volunteer" border patrol guards (which remain a paramilitary force till these days). Large numbers of M79 launchers, M16 and captured AKs and RPGs were distributed, but only a few recovered after the war. Many of these guns remain hidden in their owners homes or were sold.

Many guns were also smuggled to Thailand during and after civil war in Cambodia (and it's still possible and cheap to get AK, RPG or a grenade there) or "lost" or stolen from government forces...

The first time I visited Doi Mae Salong in Chiang Rai province - about the mid-1980s - the locals (ex KMT Chinese) offered to sell me an AK47. Now it's all tea plantations and rather prosperous and respectable.

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It's worth mentioning how the guns get there - during Vietnam war, US Army together with CIA and Thai agencies trained and equipped locals, mainly hill tribes, along border with Cambodia and Laos as a "volunteer" border patrol guards (which remain a paramilitary force till these days). Large numbers of M79 launchers, M16 and captured AKs and RPGs were distributed, but only a few recovered after the war. Many of these guns remain hidden in their owners homes or were sold.

Many guns were also smuggled to Thailand during and after civil war in Cambodia (and it's still possible and cheap to get AK, RPG or a grenade there) or "lost" or stolen from government forces...

When the US leaves a war zone, they (until very recently) left the guns behind 'as is'. It is cheaper to buy new stock than to ship them home. Now they 'disable' them before leaving them behind -- more like they bend the bent firing pins.thumbsup.gif

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Any weapons taken off the streets is a good thing, but lets not get too ahead of ourselves here Jamie, in a country with over, what was it you said before ? oh yes, a million weapons at their disposal (UDD militias) What's been found and handed in, is still insignificant in the overall context, if that's indeed the case, then throw in your every day criminal element, and that's probably going to double the amount of illegal weapons.

So yes, the steps and weapons off the streets and out of the hands of the public is a good thing, but bare in mind that even in the UK when there was an amnesty of Rifles (after Hungerford) and handguns ( Dunblane) it didn't stop, nor eradicate the criminal element using weapons in violent crimes.

It is folly to expect that Thailand will rid the country of illegally held weapons, when their borders are as porous as a sponge wink.png

It's a long process, but it's slowly achieving some pretty decent results.

The ide is to offer up an amnesty to get the guns out of the hands of people who no longer wish to have them.

That then separates them from those who DO want to have them (for whatever reason).

Then after the amnesty, comes the real crackdown where those caught with such weapons will be thrown in prison for a lot longer than if they were caught before the crackdown.

If those are handed down 20 year terms for simply having them in their possession, I would imagine that a shitload more will be abandoned.

Also you have to consider the amount of people that throw into rivers and klongs or simply buried or thrown in the trash and still are not recovered yet.

It is my guestimate that a huge % will discard and not hand in.

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Any weapons taken off the streets is a good thing, but lets not get too ahead of ourselves here Jamie, in a country with over, what was it you said before ? oh yes, a million weapons at their disposal (UDD militias) What's been found and handed in, is still insignificant in the overall context, if that's indeed the case, then throw in your every day criminal element, and that's probably going to double the amount of illegal weapons.

So yes, the steps and weapons off the streets and out of the hands of the public is a good thing, but bare in mind that even in the UK when there was an amnesty of Rifles (after Hungerford) and handguns ( Dunblane) it didn't stop, nor eradicate the criminal element using weapons in violent crimes.

It is folly to expect that Thailand will rid the country of illegally held weapons, when their borders are as porous as a sponge wink.png

It's a long process, but it's slowly achieving some pretty decent results.

Haggis I respect your knowledge of firearms and I am not been condescending but why would a common garden variety criminal need a M79 grenade launcher?

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Any weapons taken off the streets is a good thing, but lets not get too ahead of ourselves here Jamie, in a country with over, what was it you said before ? oh yes, a million weapons at their disposal (UDD militias) What's been found and handed in, is still insignificant in the overall context, if that's indeed the case, then throw in your every day criminal element, and that's probably going to double the amount of illegal weapons.

So yes, the steps and weapons off the streets and out of the hands of the public is a good thing, but bare in mind that even in the UK when there was an amnesty of Rifles (after Hungerford) and handguns ( Dunblane) it didn't stop, nor eradicate the criminal element using weapons in violent crimes.

It is folly to expect that Thailand will rid the country of illegally held weapons, when their borders are as porous as a sponge wink.png

It's a long process, but it's slowly achieving some pretty decent results.

Haggis I respect your knowledge of firearms and I am not been condescending but why would a common garden variety criminal need a M79 grenade launcher?

Because it's more effective when robbing common or garden old ladies.wink.png

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Any weapons taken off the streets is a good thing, but lets not get too ahead of ourselves here Jamie, in a country with over, what was it you said before ? oh yes, a million weapons at their disposal (UDD militias) What's been found and handed in, is still insignificant in the overall context, if that's indeed the case, then throw in your every day criminal element, and that's probably going to double the amount of illegal weapons.

So yes, the steps and weapons off the streets and out of the hands of the public is a good thing, but bare in mind that even in the UK when there was an amnesty of Rifles (after Hungerford) and handguns ( Dunblane) it didn't stop, nor eradicate the criminal element using weapons in violent crimes.

It is folly to expect that Thailand will rid the country of illegally held weapons, when their borders are as porous as a sponge wink.png

It's a long process, but it's slowly achieving some pretty decent results.

Haggis I respect your knowledge of firearms and I am not been condescending but why would a common garden variety criminal need a M79 grenade launcher?

Same way in which the hardcore red shirt needed them... intimidation.

Okay, lets be really practical over this shall we? The M79 attacks mostly happened at night time, and were mostly to intimidate, with casualties being on the lower scale of things, and I mean no disrespect to the dead and injured that resulted in their usage, but and this is a big but, if the aim wasn't to cause fear and panic, and intimidation, if I was a hard core militant, I'd have been firing these into crowds, during the day time, cause mass casualties, mass panic and hysteria, and then blend back into the crowds, as there would be so many fleeing the scene.

It is solely my opinion that the aim was never to cause mass casualties, they were used to intimidate, the fact so many rounds failed to detonate would make me also think that the rounds were not reliable enough to actually use them as an aim to mass casualties.

I should have been a bit more specific in that yes, you're every day thief, and bag snatcher and rapist doesn't need and M79, but more so those in Gangs, and organised crime, there's also nothing better to send a message to a defaulter on loan payments if you're a loan shark either.. ;)

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I remember when the first cache was found the doubters stated "This is not enough to fill a pick up". Then the next cache was found and the doubters said "This is not enough to fill a container". Next cache found "This is not enough to start a civil war" Next cache "The guns are very old" Next cache "Some of these guns were found in yellow provinces" Next cache……Well lets wait and see the below comments if any.

I am happy to hear the excuses though. Under the PTP we didn't hear any excuses or anyone downplaying the finds. Why?

Because the PTP found nothing!!!!

The PTP found nothing? Blatantly incorrect and a yellow rant pointed at centrists who do not like "your side" -- though you have no side since you are not Thai.

Go to google (it's a search engine) and type "2012 weapons seized Thailand". The list includes

Major seizure at Cambodian border by police -- 12 RPG missile launchers, 12 M79 missile launchers, 6 M16 automatic rifles and 17 AK 47 automatic rifles were found.

Intercepted North Korean missile parts at swampy...the list is pretty long just for that one year.

To make the whole thing even more ironic, the Thai military seized 100,000 rounds of ammo, dozens of guns and missile launchers in 2012 at the Myanmar border..and all that was in.... a pickup truck. So the pickup truck comment still stands correcting you.

The UN estimates 80,000 illegal weapons are in Thailand. So far, the seizures are a drop in the bucket altogether.

That was all that was said in the truck comment (and that post also said seizures of any size were good -- and which part of course you didn't quote). Then you painted the ball yellow and ran an own goal.

Congratulations!

clap2.gif

Before I reply count how many times I am condescending towards you.

Starting…………………..NOW.

Thanks for the reply and I appreciate your feedback.

These other finds while wonderful had nothing to do with the current conflict (as in the past 7 months). I am sure in 2002 when thaksin was in power he found weapon caches as well. Nice one. Good on him.

What weapons have the PTP found in the past 7 months that pertained to this current situation that I am talking about? What weapons that would have been used against the peaceful protestors have been found by the PTP? What weapons have been found that would have been used to murder and maim the enemy of the PTP?

Don't refer to arms found 2 years ago in an unrelated scenario. Not arms found 10 years ago and not arms found 50 years ago.

In 7 months of near daily terrorist attacks the PTP found nothing. Arrested no one.

In less than one month (to reiterate this is less than 1 month) This list is pretty long just for that one month.

Guns - 1219

RPGs - 56

Grenades – 406

19th of June – Weapons found in Bang Khen. two RPG launchers, five RPG grenades, two AK47 rifles, eight AK ammunition magazines, 200 rounds of AK ammunition, 25 RGD6 hand grenades and two rifle stocks.

19th of June – Surin - multiple arrests, seizing 3 M79 grenade launchers and 94 grenades, 2 AK assault rifles and 229 bullets, a carbine, a 9mm handgun and 60 bullets, an RPG launcher and 17 rocket-propelled grenades, and 18 hand grenades.

16th of June – Ayutthaya - M79 grenade launcher with 16 M79 grenades, 17 hand grenades of different types, including RGD-5s, an AK-47 along with four magazines for an AK rifle and 30 ammunition rounds

10th of June – Nonthaburi - a rifle, a carbine gun, a machine gun, several rounds of ammunition, as well as four flame grenades and four smoke bombs.

5th of June - Police in the lower Central Plains area have arrested 121 people wanted on old arrest warrants, seized more than 200 illegal guns and about 2,600 bullets over the past seven days.

5th of June – In Chachoengsao province, a joint policemilitary team raid on the home of a former village head resulted in about 50 handguns and rifles being seized along with more than 500 munitions.

5th of June - Chiang Rai’s Mae Sai district, an AK47 assault rifle and munitions along with two hand grenades

3rd of June - Chiang Saen district on Wednesday resulted in the seizure of an M16 assault rifle and equipment plus a large number of explosives and detonators used in a milling business with an expired permit for the explosives.

Rayong police retrieved a large number of explosives and weapons The items include 13 M79 rounds, three grenades and three homemade pistols.



Pattaya, police found four hand grenades and one smoke grenade by Jomtien Beach Road III.

Fire arms seized in Samot Sahkon. One AK47 assault rifle with foldable stock and 777 rounds of ammunition for the rifle, one rifle mounted with a telescope and 38 cartridges, one M79 grenade launcher, one MP1 submachine gun with 48 rounds of ammunition, one carbine with 154 cartridges, one M4 submachine gun with 275 rounds of ammunition and a silencer, one pistol, eight improvised explosive devices, three hand grenades, 120 bottles filled with gun power, three cameras, a bundle of electrical wire, a UDD staff card and a UDD guard card No 3084.used in the Trat attacks

Charupong Ruengsuwans resort found with a cache of weapons

Troops arrested 22 armed suspects and seized a large cache of arms on May 23 in Khon Kaen also showing that thaksin controls the violent militia uprising

A joint raid by police, troops and and administrative officials led by Pol Col Nipon Hemsalamad, the Singha Nakhon police chief, conducted a search in a house in Singha Nakhon district on Monday morning. After the raid, police said they found and seized an M16 rifle with 73 rounds of ammunition, a 9mm pistol with 28 rounds, an M26 hand grenade and two methamphetamine pills.

More than 3,000 people were rounded up and a large number of heavy weapons seized under a coordinated crackdown by police, military officials and civilian volunteers

​Stopping……………..NOW

​So was I condescending to you?

Goodness me. I am over 70 and I knew you were talking about the present as well.

I googled "Unrelated 2014"and got 25 300 000 results. I wonder if Fangferang was the 25 300 000th.

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I remember when the first cache was found the doubters stated "This is not enough to fill a pick up". Then the next cache was found and the doubters said "This is not enough to fill a container". Next cache found "This is not enough to start a civil war" Next cache "The guns are very old" Next cache "Some of these guns were found in yellow provinces" Next cache……Well lets wait and see the below comments if any.

I am happy to hear the excuses though. Under the PTP we didn't hear any excuses or anyone downplaying the finds. Why?

Because the PTP found nothing!!!!

The PTP found nothing? Blatantly incorrect and a yellow rant pointed at centrists who do not like "your side" -- though you have no side since you are not Thai.

Go to google (it's a search engine) and type "2012 weapons seized Thailand". The list includes

Major seizure at Cambodian border by police -- 12 RPG missile launchers, 12 M79 missile launchers, 6 M16 automatic rifles and 17 AK 47 automatic rifles were found.

Intercepted North Korean missile parts at swampy...the list is pretty long just for that one year.

To make the whole thing even more ironic, the Thai military seized 100,000 rounds of ammo, dozens of guns and missile launchers in 2012 at the Myanmar border..and all that was in.... a pickup truck. So the pickup truck comment still stands correcting you.

The UN estimates 80,000 illegal weapons are in Thailand. So far, the seizures are a drop in the bucket altogether.

That was all that was said in the truck comment (and that post also said seizures of any size were good -- and which part of course you didn't quote). Then you painted the ball yellow and ran an own goal.

Congratulations!

clap2.gif

Just as well these weapons were found then isn't it.

What with the red army being put together.

But that wasn't till later you will say, yea right.

But according to your post they still have plenty of weapons including of course the ones they stole from the army.

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I remember when the first cache was found the doubters stated "This is not enough to fill a pick up". Then the next cache was found and the doubters said "This is not enough to fill a container". Next cache found "This is not enough to start a civil war" Next cache "The guns are very old" Next cache "Some of these guns were found in yellow provinces" Next cache……Well lets wait and see the below comments if any.

I am happy to hear the excuses though. Under the PTP we didn't hear any excuses or anyone downplaying the finds. Why?

Because the PTP found nothing!!!!

The PTP found nothing? Blatantly incorrect and a yellow rant pointed at centrists who do not like "your side" -- though you have no side since you are not Thai.

Go to google (it's a search engine) and type "2012 weapons seized Thailand". The list includes

Major seizure at Cambodian border by police -- 12 RPG missile launchers, 12 M79 missile launchers, 6 M16 automatic rifles and 17 AK 47 automatic rifles were found.

Intercepted North Korean missile parts at swampy...the list is pretty long just for that one year.

To make the whole thing even more ironic, the Thai military seized 100,000 rounds of ammo, dozens of guns and missile launchers in 2012 at the Myanmar border..and all that was in.... a pickup truck. So the pickup truck comment still stands correcting you.

The UN estimates 80,000 illegal weapons are in Thailand. So far, the seizures are a drop in the bucket altogether.

That was all that was said in the truck comment (and that post also said seizures of any size were good -- and which part of course you didn't quote). Then you painted the ball yellow and ran an own goal.

Congratulations!

clap2.gif

Your reply doesnt mention anything found in red shirt areas. The PTP will be glad to know that they still have one supporter on this Forum

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I remember when the first cache was found the doubters stated "This is not enough to fill a pick up". Then the next cache was found and the doubters said "This is not enough to fill a container". Next cache found "This is not enough to start a civil war" Next cache "The guns are very old" Next cache "Some of these guns were found in yellow provinces" Next cache……Well lets wait and see the below comments if any.

I am happy to hear the excuses though. Under the PTP we didn't hear any excuses or anyone downplaying the finds. Why?

Because the PTP found nothing!!!!

The PTP found nothing? Blatantly incorrect and a yellow rant pointed at centrists who do not like "your side" -- though you have no side since you are not Thai.

Go to google (it's a search engine) and type "2012 weapons seized Thailand". The list includes

Major seizure at Cambodian border by police -- 12 RPG missile launchers, 12 M79 missile launchers, 6 M16 automatic rifles and 17 AK 47 automatic rifles were found.

Intercepted North Korean missile parts at swampy...the list is pretty long just for that one year.

To make the whole thing even more ironic, the Thai military seized 100,000 rounds of ammo, dozens of guns and missile launchers in 2012 at the Myanmar border..and all that was in.... a pickup truck. So the pickup truck comment still stands correcting you.

The UN estimates 80,000 illegal weapons are in Thailand. So far, the seizures are a drop in the bucket altogether.

That was all that was said in the truck comment (and that post also said seizures of any size were good -- and which part of course you didn't quote). Then you painted the ball yellow and ran an own goal.

Congratulations!

clap2.gif

Your reply doesnt mention anything found in red shirt areas. The PTP will be glad to know that they still have one supporter on this Forum

Huh?!

He took the results from google regardless of the area ,you're the one making the connection with red shirt/yellow shirt areas. (FYI if you wanted to go that route Cambodia border is actually predominantly "red" anyway)

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I would be much more comfortable with coup if they put BOTH feet down: one on reds with arms, and one on yellows with arms. But seems all these busts are against reds. Suthep and his friends got just what they wanted. I want proof army is running country from neutral standpoint.

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I remember when the first cache was found the doubters stated "This is not enough to fill a pick up". Then the next cache was found and the doubters said "This is not enough to fill a container". Next cache found "This is not enough to start a civil war" Next cache "The guns are very old" Next cache "Some of these guns were found in yellow provinces" Next cache……Well lets wait and see the below comments if any.

I am happy to hear the excuses though. Under the PTP we didn't hear any excuses or anyone downplaying the finds. Why?

Because the PTP found nothing!!!!

The PTP found nothing? Blatantly incorrect and a yellow rant pointed at centrists who do not like "your side" -- though you have no side since you are not Thai.

Go to google (it's a search engine) and type "2012 weapons seized Thailand". The list includes

Major seizure at Cambodian border by police -- 12 RPG missile launchers, 12 M79 missile launchers, 6 M16 automatic rifles and 17 AK 47 automatic rifles were found.

Intercepted North Korean missile parts at swampy...the list is pretty long just for that one year.

To make the whole thing even more ironic, the Thai military seized 100,000 rounds of ammo, dozens of guns and missile launchers in 2012 at the Myanmar border..and all that was in.... a pickup truck. So the pickup truck comment still stands correcting you.

The UN estimates 80,000 illegal weapons are in Thailand. So far, the seizures are a drop in the bucket altogether.

That was all that was said in the truck comment (and that post also said seizures of any size were good -- and which part of course you didn't quote). Then you painted the ball yellow and ran an own goal.

Congratulations!

clap2.gif

Before I reply count how many times I am condescending towards you.

Starting…………………..NOW.

Thanks for the reply and I appreciate your feedback.

These other finds while wonderful had nothing to do with the current conflict (as in the past 7 months). I am sure in 2002 when thaksin was in power he found weapon caches as well. Nice one. Good on him.

What weapons have the PTP found in the past 7 months that pertained to this current situation that I am talking about? What weapons that would have been used against the peaceful protestors have been found by the PTP? What weapons have been found that would have been used to murder and maim the enemy of the PTP?

Don't refer to arms found 2 years ago in an unrelated scenario. Not arms found 10 years ago and not arms found 50 years ago.

In 7 months of near daily terrorist attacks the PTP found nothing. Arrested no one.

In less than one month (to reiterate this is less than 1 month) This list is pretty long just for that one month.

Guns - 1219

RPGs - 56

Grenades – 406

19th of June – Weapons found in Bang Khen. two RPG launchers, five RPG grenades, two AK47 rifles, eight AK ammunition magazines, 200 rounds of AK ammunition, 25 RGD6 hand grenades and two rifle stocks.

19th of June – Surin - multiple arrests, seizing 3 M79 grenade launchers and 94 grenades, 2 AK assault rifles and 229 bullets, a carbine, a 9mm handgun and 60 bullets, an RPG launcher and 17 rocket-propelled grenades, and 18 hand grenades.

16th of June – Ayutthaya - M79 grenade launcher with 16 M79 grenades, 17 hand grenades of different types, including RGD-5s, an AK-47 along with four magazines for an AK rifle and 30 ammunition rounds

10th of June – Nonthaburi - a rifle, a carbine gun, a machine gun, several rounds of ammunition, as well as four flame grenades and four smoke bombs.

5th of June - Police in the lower Central Plains area have arrested 121 people wanted on old arrest warrants, seized more than 200 illegal guns and about 2,600 bullets over the past seven days.

5th of June – In Chachoengsao province, a joint policemilitary team raid on the home of a former village head resulted in about 50 handguns and rifles being seized along with more than 500 munitions.

5th of June - Chiang Rai’s Mae Sai district, an AK47 assault rifle and munitions along with two hand grenades

3rd of June - Chiang Saen district on Wednesday resulted in the seizure of an M16 assault rifle and equipment plus a large number of explosives and detonators used in a milling business with an expired permit for the explosives.

Rayong police retrieved a large number of explosives and weapons The items include 13 M79 rounds, three grenades and three homemade pistols.



Pattaya, police found four hand grenades and one smoke grenade by Jomtien Beach Road III.

Fire arms seized in Samot Sahkon. One AK47 assault rifle with foldable stock and 777 rounds of ammunition for the rifle, one rifle mounted with a telescope and 38 cartridges, one M79 grenade launcher, one MP1 submachine gun with 48 rounds of ammunition, one carbine with 154 cartridges, one M4 submachine gun with 275 rounds of ammunition and a silencer, one pistol, eight improvised explosive devices, three hand grenades, 120 bottles filled with gun power, three cameras, a bundle of electrical wire, a UDD staff card and a UDD guard card No 3084.used in the Trat attacks

Charupong Ruengsuwans resort found with a cache of weapons

Troops arrested 22 armed suspects and seized a large cache of arms on May 23 in Khon Kaen also showing that thaksin controls the violent militia uprising

A joint raid by police, troops and and administrative officials led by Pol Col Nipon Hemsalamad, the Singha Nakhon police chief, conducted a search in a house in Singha Nakhon district on Monday morning. After the raid, police said they found and seized an M16 rifle with 73 rounds of ammunition, a 9mm pistol with 28 rounds, an M26 hand grenade and two methamphetamine pills.

More than 3,000 people were rounded up and a large number of heavy weapons seized under a coordinated crackdown by police, military officials and civilian volunteers

​Stopping……………..NOW

​So was I condescending to you?

Very nicely done. Doubt that will sink in or shut him up though....but nicely done.

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do they ever check the serial numbers to see if they were from thai military stores, or from previous seizures ?

I remember the weapon amnesty in Kosovo 2001 led by the UN Police. UN Police and Kosovo Police had clear instructions to collect weapons but to not treat them as possible evidence and the Police were strictly forbidden to do any forensic investigations. The UN was hoping that even criminals would surrender their weapons, if they knew they would not be arrested afterwards for other crimes then just the possession of weapons.

In some areas people handed in some old hunting rifles and a few WWII carabiners. All in all it was a complete failure.

The Disarmament programme in Liberia 2005 was rather successful. People were given certain amounts of money for weapons and ammunition they handed in (the sum depending on the type of weapon). The program was completed a few years later and actually, there are only very few guns on the market (the machete seems to be the weapon of choice when it comes to settle civilian disputes). Again, the weapons were collected and destroyed but not examined to find evidence.

I would be surprised, if they told people to hand in their guns and not guarantee that there would be no further examination of the weapons. It is more or less a "must", if you want to have at least a small chance to complete an amnesty successfully.

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Any weapons taken off the streets is a good thing, but lets not get too ahead of ourselves here Jamie, in a country with over, what was it you said before ? oh yes, a million weapons at their disposal (UDD militias) What's been found and handed in, is still insignificant in the overall context, if that's indeed the case, then throw in your every day criminal element, and that's probably going to double the amount of illegal weapons.

So yes, the steps and weapons off the streets and out of the hands of the public is a good thing, but bare in mind that even in the UK when there was an amnesty of Rifles (after Hungerford) and handguns ( Dunblane) it didn't stop, nor eradicate the criminal element using weapons in violent crimes.

It is folly to expect that Thailand will rid the country of illegally held weapons, when their borders are as porous as a sponge wink.png

It's a long process, but it's slowly achieving some pretty decent results.

Haggis I respect your knowledge of firearms and I am not been condescending but why would a common garden variety criminal need a M79 grenade launcher?

Same way in which the hardcore red shirt needed them... intimidation.

Okay, lets be really practical over this shall we? The M79 attacks mostly happened at night time, and were mostly to intimidate, with casualties being on the lower scale of things, and I mean no disrespect to the dead and injured that resulted in their usage, but and this is a big but, if the aim wasn't to cause fear and panic, and intimidation, if I was a hard core militant, I'd have been firing these into crowds, during the day time, cause mass casualties, mass panic and hysteria, and then blend back into the crowds, as there would be so many fleeing the scene.

It is solely my opinion that the aim was never to cause mass casualties, they were used to intimidate, the fact so many rounds failed to detonate would make me also think that the rounds were not reliable enough to actually use them as an aim to mass casualties.

I should have been a bit more specific in that yes, you're every day thief, and bag snatcher and rapist doesn't need and M79, but more so those in Gangs, and organised crime, there's also nothing better to send a message to a defaulter on loan payments if you're a loan shark either.. wink.png

A good post. Ran out of likes.

I think two other reasons why people here have them is the "bigger is better" mentality (same as with having bigger cars, even

when impractical or unnecessary), second is that people just hang on to stuff like that - can't normally hand it in without some

questioned being asked, can't sell it without risk, so stashing it somewhere "safe" works. Throwing away stuff is just anti-Thai

thing to do. The age and storage things would go some way in explaining ammo not going off etc.

Might be wrong, but can't offhand recall many instances of M79 being used in criminal related activities here (same goes for

RPGs). Hand grenades and fire arms yes.

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Not sure why some people seem to be overly sure that possession of most weapons collected/confiscated is necessarily politically related.

Of course there that as well, no one saying there isn't - some of the weapons caches that they found are quite obviously "it".

That said, many weapons were found in small numbers, with low amounts of ammunition (sometimes ill fitting), many were of home-made

manufacture - these sound more like private stashes (as opposed to organized efforts of stocking weapons).

Estimated numbers of illegal weapons in-country were traditionally high, even before the last decade of political unrest. Again, could be

mistaken, but was there any indication of a sharp rise in these figures during this time?

And yes, this is not "civil war" material. If some of you don't know what civil war is - take a look at the Middle East and Africa, some live

images that would set you straight. Thailand was never even close to that this time around. Civil war is when all hell breaks loose.

Could what they collected so far, if taking the "non-political" weapons off the list (each to his own estimates, this is mine) have been used

to carry out more intimidation and terror attacks as seen in the last months? Yes. Is it enough to carry out mass prolonged insurgency - I

think not.

There was a massive theft of weapons reported a while back from an army base. Some stories related thousands of fire arms stolen.

A lot of huffing and puffing , but don't remember much or any of it being restored. That, for me, would be more worrisome than most

of the weapons confiscated so far.

Of course, the army could (and probably would) uncover more weapons in the future, and we may learn more about political connections

related to possession. So far, the army did not implicate any leaders or key figures with anything to do with this. Can't say if that is just a

tactical move, if there's lack of connecting evidence, or if this is about politics.

In my experience, being shot at sucks, so I'm all for taking back every last weapons out there.

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Any weapons taken off the streets is a good thing, but lets not get too ahead of ourselves here Jamie, in a country with over, what was it you said before ? oh yes, a million weapons at their disposal (UDD militias) What's been found and handed in, is still insignificant in the overall context, if that's indeed the case, then throw in your every day criminal element, and that's probably going to double the amount of illegal weapons.

So yes, the steps and weapons off the streets and out of the hands of the public is a good thing, but bare in mind that even in the UK when there was an amnesty of Rifles (after Hungerford) and handguns ( Dunblane) it didn't stop, nor eradicate the criminal element using weapons in violent crimes.

It is folly to expect that Thailand will rid the country of illegally held weapons, when their borders are as porous as a sponge wink.png

It's a long process, but it's slowly achieving some pretty decent results.

Haggis I respect your knowledge of firearms and I am not been condescending but why would a common garden variety criminal need a M79 grenade launcher?

Same way in which the hardcore red shirt needed them... intimidation.

Okay, lets be really practical over this shall we? The M79 attacks mostly happened at night time, and were mostly to intimidate, with casualties being on the lower scale of things, and I mean no disrespect to the dead and injured that resulted in their usage, but and this is a big but, if the aim wasn't to cause fear and panic, and intimidation, if I was a hard core militant, I'd have been firing these into crowds, during the day time, cause mass casualties, mass panic and hysteria, and then blend back into the crowds, as there would be so many fleeing the scene.

It is solely my opinion that the aim was never to cause mass casualties, they were used to intimidate, the fact so many rounds failed to detonate would make me also think that the rounds were not reliable enough to actually use them as an aim to mass casualties.

I should have been a bit more specific in that yes, you're every day thief, and bag snatcher and rapist doesn't need and M79, but more so those in Gangs, and organised crime, there's also nothing better to send a message to a defaulter on loan payments if you're a loan shark either.. wink.png

A good post. Ran out of likes.

I think two other reasons why people here have them is the "bigger is better" mentality (same as with having bigger cars, even

when impractical or unnecessary), second is that people just hang on to stuff like that - can't normally hand it in without some

questioned being asked, can't sell it without risk, so stashing it somewhere "safe" works. Throwing away stuff is just anti-Thai

thing to do. The age and storage things would go some way in explaining ammo not going off etc.

Might be wrong, but can't offhand recall many instances of M79 being used in criminal related activities here (same goes for

RPGs). Hand grenades and fire arms yes.

Liked the "bigger is better" bit. Reminded me of this Guy Ritchie film "Snatch" (could very well play in Bangkok but with the criminals being Thai biggrin.png )

Edited by jope
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I remember when the first cache was found the doubters stated "This is not enough to fill a pick up". Then the next cache was found and the doubters said "This is not enough to fill a container". Next cache found "This is not enough to start a civil war" Next cache "The guns are very old" Next cache "Some of these guns were found in yellow provinces" Next cache……Well lets wait and see the below comments if any.

I am happy to hear the excuses though. Under the PTP we didn't hear any excuses or anyone downplaying the finds. Why?

Because the PTP found nothing!!!!

The PTP found nothing? Blatantly incorrect and a yellow rant pointed at centrists who do not like "your side" -- though you have no side since you are not Thai.

Go to google (it's a search engine) and type "2012 weapons seized Thailand". The list includes

Major seizure at Cambodian border by police -- 12 RPG missile launchers, 12 M79 missile launchers, 6 M16 automatic rifles and 17 AK 47 automatic rifles were found.

Intercepted North Korean missile parts at swampy...the list is pretty long just for that one year.

To make the whole thing even more ironic, the Thai military seized 100,000 rounds of ammo, dozens of guns and missile launchers in 2012 at the Myanmar border..and all that was in.... a pickup truck. So the pickup truck comment still stands correcting you.

The UN estimates 80,000 illegal weapons are in Thailand. So far, the seizures are a drop in the bucket altogether.

That was all that was said in the truck comment (and that post also said seizures of any size were good -- and which part of course you didn't quote). Then you painted the ball yellow and ran an own goal.

Congratulations!

clap2.gif

Before I reply count how many times I am condescending towards you.

Starting…………………..NOW.

Thanks for the reply and I appreciate your feedback.

These other finds while wonderful had nothing to do with the current conflict (as in the past 7 months). I am sure in 2002 when thaksin was in power he found weapon caches as well. Nice one. Good on him.

What weapons have the PTP found in the past 7 months that pertained to this current situation that I am talking about? What weapons that would have been used against the peaceful protestors have been found by the PTP? What weapons have been found that would have been used to murder and maim the enemy of the PTP?

Don't refer to arms found 2 years ago in an unrelated scenario. Not arms found 10 years ago and not arms found 50 years ago.

In 7 months of near daily terrorist attacks the PTP found nothing. Arrested no one.

In less than one month (to reiterate this is less than 1 month) This list is pretty long just for that one month.

Guns - 1219

RPGs - 56

Grenades – 406

19th of June – Weapons found in Bang Khen. two RPG launchers, five RPG grenades, two AK47 rifles, eight AK ammunition magazines, 200 rounds of AK ammunition, 25 RGD6 hand grenades and two rifle stocks.

19th of June – Surin - multiple arrests, seizing 3 M79 grenade launchers and 94 grenades, 2 AK assault rifles and 229 bullets, a carbine, a 9mm handgun and 60 bullets, an RPG launcher and 17 rocket-propelled grenades, and 18 hand grenades.

16th of June – Ayutthaya - M79 grenade launcher with 16 M79 grenades, 17 hand grenades of different types, including RGD-5s, an AK-47 along with four magazines for an AK rifle and 30 ammunition rounds

10th of June – Nonthaburi - a rifle, a carbine gun, a machine gun, several rounds of ammunition, as well as four flame grenades and four smoke bombs.

5th of June - Police in the lower Central Plains area have arrested 121 people wanted on old arrest warrants, seized more than 200 illegal guns and about 2,600 bullets over the past seven days.

5th of June – In Chachoengsao province, a joint policemilitary team raid on the home of a former village head resulted in about 50 handguns and rifles being seized along with more than 500 munitions.

5th of June - Chiang Rai’s Mae Sai district, an AK47 assault rifle and munitions along with two hand grenades

3rd of June - Chiang Saen district on Wednesday resulted in the seizure of an M16 assault rifle and equipment plus a large number of explosives and detonators used in a milling business with an expired permit for the explosives.

Rayong police retrieved a large number of explosives and weapons The items include 13 M79 rounds, three grenades and three homemade pistols.



Pattaya, police found four hand grenades and one smoke grenade by Jomtien Beach Road III.

Fire arms seized in Samot Sahkon. One AK47 assault rifle with foldable stock and 777 rounds of ammunition for the rifle, one rifle mounted with a telescope and 38 cartridges, one M79 grenade launcher, one MP1 submachine gun with 48 rounds of ammunition, one carbine with 154 cartridges, one M4 submachine gun with 275 rounds of ammunition and a silencer, one pistol, eight improvised explosive devices, three hand grenades, 120 bottles filled with gun power, three cameras, a bundle of electrical wire, a UDD staff card and a UDD guard card No 3084.used in the Trat attacks

Charupong Ruengsuwans resort found with a cache of weapons

Troops arrested 22 armed suspects and seized a large cache of arms on May 23 in Khon Kaen also showing that thaksin controls the violent militia uprising

A joint raid by police, troops and and administrative officials led by Pol Col Nipon Hemsalamad, the Singha Nakhon police chief, conducted a search in a house in Singha Nakhon district on Monday morning. After the raid, police said they found and seized an M16 rifle with 73 rounds of ammunition, a 9mm pistol with 28 rounds, an M26 hand grenade and two methamphetamine pills.

More than 3,000 people were rounded up and a large number of heavy weapons seized under a coordinated crackdown by police, military officials and civilian volunteers

​Stopping……………..NOW

​So was I condescending to you?

Which government in Thailand before PTP crackdown on weapon?

PTP was yesterday news, what are you trying to tell us that we haven't knew about PTP yet? There is no red or yellow shirt for the time being because the green shirt is in charge now, let them do their job and clean up the mess. It is now time to move away from the ugly conflict towards a better Thailand.

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For those interested on how much of this stuff is available in nearby countries. I was sent these pix today which I believe to be recent. Have a good look at all the machine gun barrels & parts under the Extended Range fuel tanks ex USAF in Vietnam circa 60's-70's The good stuff never got thrown away. Guns cleaned & oiled & looked after are extremely durable

post-184549-0-80572000-1403265767_thumb.

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