A grenade and an airsoft pistol have been seized from the home of a former Norwegian soldier married to a Thai woman in Nakhon Phanom, after the gun accidentally fell from his clothing to the floor during a quarrel with the village chief.
A team of police and soldiers on Thursday went to the house at Ban Khokkong village in tambon Portak in Muang district of the northeastern province.
They found Arnie Olaf Johansen, 67, a former Norwegian soldier, and his Thai wife Krungthon Chandom, 47, there. They asked to search the house.
During the search, they discovered an airsoft pistol and also an MK2 grenade hidden under a pile of sand in front of the house. The grenade's detonator had been removed, rendering it harmless, Khaosod Online reported on Thursday.
Ms Krungthong, owner of the house, told authorities that she and her husband were having a meal when the village head dumped truckloads of soil on a block of adjoining land, filling the air with dust.
Her husband angrily scolded the village chief and a quarrel erupted, during which her husband’s airsoft pistol accidentally fell from his clothing to the ground.
On seeing the pistol, the village head mistakenly thought her husband intended to threaten him, so he called police, said Ms Krungthon.
Authorities initially pressed charges of illegal possession of a weapon against the woman, in her capacity as registered owner of the house. She was taken to Muang district police station and later released on bail.