SAMUT PRAKAN: Police rounded up 70 people and impounded 261 motorcycles in a suppression operation against motorcyclists racing illegally on public roads in this central province on July 10-13, Pol Lt Gen Ampon Buarabporn, commissioner of the Region 1 Provincial Police Bureau, said in a media briefing on Saturday night.
Police teams were also deployed to search 46 shops where motorcycles were modified for illegal racing in violation of the National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO) announcements Nos 22 and 48 issued in 2015. About 110 modified exhaust pipes were seized.
Two men - Apichart Wongboonmee, 24, and Pichet Jindanapalai, 18 - were arrested over a Facebook post that invited people to take to the streets for illegal racing.
Pol Lt Gen Ampon said it is the policy of the government and Royal Thai Police to crack down on illegal racing on public roads without regard for public safety.
He urged members of the public to inform police via social media and other channels if they see illegal street racing.