'Most-wanted' young gangsters arrested

Police arrest alleged young gang members at a house in Nong Chok district early on Monday morning. (Police photo)
Police arrest alleged young gang members at a house in Nong Chok district early on Monday morning. (Police photo)

Bangkok police on Monday arrested members of a youth gang in Nong Chok district on criminal charges including attempted murder, assault and selling drugs and guns.

Police said they arrested six members of the Tang Doen Suea (tigers' journey) crime syndicate in an operation lasting 36 hours.

The arrested suspects were between 15 and 21 years of age.

Police also seized nine illegal guns and ammunition from a house in Nong Chok.

Police said the gang had a long involvement in criminal activity that included robbery, attempted murder, drug dealing and weapons trafficking. They had preyed on and terrified local residents for a long time despite facing many arrest warrants.

"They are the number one wanted gangsters in Nong Chok," a local police chief said.

Acting on a tip-off, police first spotted two of the wanted youths at a convenience store about 3.30am on Monday.  A car with two people had parked near the store and one person went inside  Police were confident they were members of the gang, so they arrested them.

After questioning them, police then raided the house Soi Liab Wari in Nong Chok and arrested four others. The alleged gang leader tried to escape but was injured jumping from a wall and quickly caught.

"This gang is a major firearms dealer in the Nong Chok area. They have sold more than 2,000 firearms online," the chief said.

At least 20 customers who purchased guns from them were robbed when they tried to collect their purchases, he said.

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Vocabulary

  • ammunition: bullets, bombs, etc that can be fired from a weapon - อาวุธยุทธภัณฑ์, ลูกกระสุน
  • convenience store: a shop/store that sells food, newspapers, etc. and often stays open 24 hours a day - ร้านสะดวกซื้อ
  • firearms: guns - อาวุธปืน
  • gangster: a member of an organised group of violent criminals - สมาชิกของแก๊งอาชญา, อันธพาล, นักเลง,
  • prey on: to hurt or deceive a group of people, especially people who are weak or can easily be hurt or deceived - หาเหยื่อ
  • purchase: something that has been bought - ของที่ซื้อมา
  • raid: to forcefully and suddenly enter a place to catch criminals or to search for something like drugs - ใช้กำลังเข้าค้นสถานที่หรือ จับกุมคนร้าย
  • seize: to take something using official power and force - จับกุม
  • suspect: a person who is thought to have committed a crime - ผู้ต้องสงสัย
  • syndicate: a group of people or companies who work together and help each other in order to achieve a particular aim - สมาคม, องค์การ, สหการ , การรวมกลุ่มเป็นสมาคม
  • tip-off: secret information or a warning given by someone  - ข่าวเตือน จากวงใน
  • trafficking: dealing in illegal goods, like drugs, weapons or in illegally moving humans or animals from one place to another - การค้าสิ่งที่ผิดกฎหมาย
  • youth: a boy or a young man - เด็กหนุ่ม, วัยรุ่น
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