Metropolitan Police raided an illegal gun arsenal in the middle of the capital, arresting a 39-year-old man who was producing and selling illegal guns through closed social media groups, seizing 19 firearms.
Police officers arrested Mr. Chotithanaphut or Gib Phala, aged 39, on charges of ‘possessing firearms and ammunition without permission, making, assembling, repairing, changing the characteristics, ordering, importing, possessing, or selling firearms or ammunition for trade without permission’ along with evidence of several firearms, a total of 19 guns, such as modified BB guns, homemade broken-barrel firearms, homemade broken-barrel firearms, etc.
In this case, the Metropolitan Police online patrol unit found a page selling illegal firearms and found that the person had a history of being arrested for ‘possessing firearms and ammunition without permission, making, assembling, repairing, changing the characteristics, ordering, importing, having, or selling firearms or ammunition for trade without permi
ssion’. In addition, intelligence from an informant revealed that Mr. Chotithanapa, who is currently on bail in the appeal of the latest firearms arrest case, has returned to committing the same crime after being released on bail. Therefore, an investigation was conducted to find the current hiding place where the incident occurred.
After the police investigated and found out that Mr. Chotithanaphat had fled to rent a room in Lat Krabang district, they arrested him and requested to search him. It turned out that Mr. Chotithanaphat admitted that he was still illegally possessing firearms and ammunition without permission and still made, assembled, repaired and sold firearms and ammunition to customers who ordered online as usual. An inspection of the room found 12 homemade .38 SPL broken-barreled firearms, one homemade 20-gauge shotgun and one homemade 410-gauge shotgun hidden in a kitchen cabinet on the balcony behind the room. A total of 19 firearms, as well as .22, .38, .380 caliber ammunition, 12 gauge sh
otgun shells, 20 gauge shotgun shells totaling 155 rounds, 9 chamber parts, 12 .38 caliber gun barrels, as well as other firearm components and packaging equipment totaling more than 20 items.
Initially, Mr. Chotithanaphatt stated that he used to work as a production staff for a famous tire factory for about 10 years. Later, in 2018, because he liked firearms, he bought a break-barreled shotgun and kept it. Later, he got bored with the break-barreled shotgun, so he tried posting it for sale on his personal Facebook page to earn money to order a modified bank gun to use instead. He was able to sell it, so he started by ordering and selling it, and developed from ordering one gun at a time to ordering 70 to 100 guns at a time, earning more than 200,000 to 300,000 baht per month until he was arrested in 2019 and sentenced to 2 years in prison. After being released, he turned to farming, but he still secretly ordered firearms before being arrested again in 2021. This time, he was sentenced to 12 months in prison
. After being released, he was unemployed because he still had another gun hidden in his house, so he posted it for sale on his personal Facebook page, which led to the police arresting him again. The case is currently on bail during the appeal process.
After being granted bail, he returned to illegally sell firearms, modifying BB guns to be able to shoot .38 caliber bullets, to customers who ordered online. He created a Facebook page to disguise himself and also named it a group name to represent himself so that members who had ordered firearms from him would know him. He appointed himself the group president and sold shirts through Facebook where he posted an announcement to sell the guns at the same time, until he was arrested this time.
In the past, after being granted bail in the appeal and returning to illegally selling firearms, he had an average of 30-50 firearms sold per month, with an average profit of 1,500-2,000 baht per firearm. The money gained from illegally selling firearms was used for dail
y expenses, traveling, and changing places to avoid arrest. The officers therefore took the suspect along with evidence related to the case to the Investigation Officer of Chorakhe Noi Police Station for further legal proceedings.
Source: Thai News Agency