SATUN - A major drug suspect who escaped from a court hearing four years ago was hurt and caught following a gunfight with police in Tha Phae district.
A 50-strong combined force of Crime Suppression Division and Satun police moved in on a rented house in tambon Tha Rua on Thursday evening following a tip-off that fugitive drug suspect Pansak Tepsan was hiding there.
Police said Pansak saw them and opened fire, and then fled in a pickup truck. They followed in hot pursuit, firing shots at the pickup's wheels, but one bullet hit the suspect’s left leg.
Pansak abandoned the pickup and fled into a rubber plantation about 200 metres away from the rented house. Police surrounded the area and subsequently arrested him.
An M16 assault rifle was found in his pickup truck and a 9mm pistol was found in the rubber plantation, Thai media reported.
Pansak, alias Usen, a major drug suspect, assaulted officials and escaped when he arrived under escort for a hearing at the Satun court in 2014. He has been a hunted fugitive ever since.
He was taken to a hospital for treatment of his wound before being handed over to Satun police for legal action.