In the hope of arresting suspects who commit crimes in Bangkok and flee to other provinces, the Central Investigation Bureau (CIB) is implementing a new plan to reinforce their operations with investigators whose area of supervision is not limited to the capital.
Concern over the rising number of murders and cases of drug trafficking in Bangkok have led police to boost their efforts, since the officers are unable to conduct quick searches to arrest suspects when they flee to upcountry provinces.
CIB chief Thitirat Nongharnphithak first thought of the Crime Suppression Division (CSD), an investigative arm of the CIB, in connection with the plan. He wants the CSD to spearhead the arrest of suspects across the country as well as assume a coordinator's role to work with other agencies under the CIB.
Because suspects can be hiding anywhere, support from these agencies to gather clues is essential, he said. "On the roads, we have the highway police, on water we have the marine police and on trains, we have the railway police," Pol Lt Gen Thitirat said. These forces will work with the CSD and the Metropolitan Police Bureau (MPB).
The CSD helped make city police officers' work easier when its officers last Thursday nabbed a man accused of stabbing his love rival to death after Bang Phong Phang police had spent weeks looking for him to no avail. Bang Phong Phang police identified the man as Piyanat Boriphan and asked the court to issue a warrant for his arrest following the murder on Sathu Pradit Road on May 19.
The 23-year-old native of Nakhon Si Thammarat allegedly colluded with his girlfriend Sunantha Phusotsun, 32, to kill her ex-boyfriend Manat Lirungrueang, a 26-year-old pub musician in Bangkok. According to Mr Piyanat's account, he killed the victim due to stress caused by "Manat's threats" to assault him.
An initial investigation found Mr Piyanat and Ms Sunantha followed Manat by motorcycle after he left a pub. Mr Piyanat then attacked the victim, leaving 17 stab wounds. Bang Phong Phang police tried to arrest the suspect but failed. It was not at all clear when Mr Piyanat would be found until the CSD's sub-division 1 chief Chiraphop Phuridet took up the case.
Pol Col Chiraphop's team inspected security cameras at the scene, talked to witnesses and looked up information about the suspects through online social networks. It also tracked their mobile phones. The investigators eventually found Mr Piyanat hiding in Phuket and arrested him in Muang district.
"The help we offer city police is aimed at reducing the city's crime rate," Pol Col Chiraphop said. Cases like Manat's murder are not complicated, but they require quick action.
Another murder case in the capital also drew in the CSD, though it was Bangkok and Nakhon Si Thammarat officers who eventually nabbed a suspect on June 4 in the southern province over a murder that took place on May 25. Waranyu Chumani, 19, was accused of stabbing to death engineer Naret Wangthangmi, 33, in the Lat Phrao area. The suspect later allegedly admitted he killed the man with the intention of stealing the victim's motorcycle, according to an investigation.
In another case related to drugs, the CSD recently helped Bukkhalo police arrest a man named Chetsada Sawaengha, 30, at a café in Chon Buri's Muang district. He is accused of colluding with two other men to sell drugs. Again, CSD investigators found his hideout through tracking the suspect's phone.
Earlier on May 22, Bukkhalo police found 40,000 methamphetamine pills and two kilogrammes of crystal methamphetamine left near a tree pot at Wat Sutthawat in Soi Taksin 24. In the same alley, they found a pickup truck left by the two men. They checked the vehicle and found an identity card and a bank account number belonging to Mr Chetsada.
Pol Lt Gen Thitirat said many city crimes are committed by young rural people coming to work in Bangkok. Provinces with high crime rates will be the CSD's target. "Another aim is to reduce crimes there," Pol Lt Gen Thitirat said. "That will help prevent suspects from coming to the capital."
Contact Crime Track: crimetrack@bangkokpost.co.th