CCTV cameras removed from the scene of a deadly shootout in a Bangkok gambling den on Rama III Road have been found in a building opposite the illegal casino.
What is actually on the footage, however, has not yet been revealed by the police.
The case has been the talk of the town, undermining the public's confidence in the Royal Thai Police (RTP). Local media yesterday reported Pol Gen Chakthip Chaijinda has vowed to transfer Metropolitan Police Bureau chief Pol Lt Gen Phakkhaphong Phongphetra to an inactive post unless all culprits involved in the shooting are arrested.
Pol Col Pitak Suttikul, acting superintendent of Thung Mahamek police station, said police found the CCTV cameras plus gambling equipment and hard drives after a den worker allegedly moved them to a house 10 metres away from the crime scene.
A total of three hard disks, three CD recorders, eight surveillance cameras, six gambling tables and other gaming equipment were confiscated as part of the investigation into the shootout.
Four people were shot dead at the illegal establishment on Monday, one of them Pol Maj Watthanaset Samniangprasert, a local police officer.
The suspected shooter of the police officer was shot dead by a man identified as "Boy Ban Khrua", who subsequently fled the premises.
The Bangkok South Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant for Boy Ban Khrua, 61, whose real name is Niphit Srisuwan, for murder.
Police sources said the suspect contacted police and said he would turn himself in. He also claimed he threw the gun he used "in the water".
However, Pol Maj Gen Saharath Saksilapachai, deputy chief of the RTP and chief investigator in the case, yesterday said Mr Niphit failed to show up.
Pol Maj Gen Jirapat Phumji, another deputy, believes there were more shooters involved in the crime, and that they concealed and destroyed evidence.
Police investigators are gathering more evidence to get more arrest warrants issued, Pol Maj Gen Jirapat said.
He said Mr Niphit's gun could reveal how many and what kinds of firearms were used in Monday's shootout.
Pol Maj Gen Saharath said the investigation is divided into three sub-cases: the shooting that killed four people, the removal or destruction of evidence and illegal gambling.
Police are waiting for forensic results, an update on missing camera footage and for the landlord and den owner to show up after being summoned.