SA KAEO – A large number of traders at Rong Kluea border market attacked Department of Special Investigation officers during a raid for counterfeit goods on Wednesday.
Khlong Luek police station officers rushed to the market at around 10.30am where they found about 500 vendors, mostly Cambodians, surrounding an overturned vehicle on the road. They called for back-up from the 19th Army Circle to control the crowd.
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A preliminary investigation found that the group of men claiming to be DSI officers had seized large amounts of fake goods from shops owned by Cambodian traders and put them in a six-wheeled van. Vendors tried to negotiate and surrounded the officers, with one reportedly pulling a gun and challenging the traders.
That incited the sellers who set upon the officers and blocked the road. Some vendors threw bricks and stones at the DSI officials who were then rescued by police officers. The injured officers were treated at Aranyaprathet hospital and released.
Pol Col Seksan Wattanapong, commander of Khlong Luek police, said the incident got out of hand because the DSI officials came in plainclothes and had not coordinated their seizure with local agencies. Vendors were suspicious as previous "raids" had been staged by police impersonators who demanded bribes.
The DSI on Wednesday afternoon issued a statement that its officers, along with officials from the French embassy, staged the operation to seize counterfeit perfumes at the Rong Kluea market and identified themselves to the shop owner, who allegedly admitted to selling pirated products.
Pol Col Phaisit Wongmuang, the DSI director-general, assigned a deputy director-general to investigate the assault on the officers.
The department said the market was known as a hub of counterfeit goods and the DSI previously tried to arrest pirates and was met with pressure from sellers.
The DSI will pursue criminal charges to ensure no such action in the future, according to the statement.