Three men were separately arrested in Yala and Bangkok for allegedly selling firearms, including a blank gun, and ammunition to a 14-year-old boy who went on a shooting rampage inside Siam Paragon shopping mall in Bangkok on Tuesday afternoon. The incident left two foreign nationals dead and five others wounded.
A team of investigators from the Provincial Police Region 9 apprehended two of the three suspects at a house in tambon Sateng of Muang district in Yala at around 1am on Thursday.
Suwananhong Phramkhanajarn, 45, and his 22-year-old son Akkharawit Jaithong were wanted on arrest warrants issued by the Bangkok South Criminal Court for colluding in illegal possession of firearms and ammunition and selling firearms and ammunition without permission.
Seized from the house were 209 rounds of ammunition for blank guns, 33 metal parts, two bank accounts, nine magazines and other items. The two men were being taken to Bangkok for questioning.
The third suspect, Piyabut Pianpithak, 30, was arrested in Bangkok.
The arrests came after Pol Lt Gen Thiti Saengsawang, commissioner of the Metropolitan Police Bureau, ordered Yannawa police to gather evidence and seek court approval for issuing warrants against the three individuals involved in the illegal sale of firearms and ammunition.
Police arrest two suspects whose faces are blurred in Yala in the early hours of Thursday. (Photo supplied/Wassayos Ngamkham)
A police investigation found that the 14-year-old boy contacted an online gun seller, expressing his interest in firearms, and they had online conversations. However, the suspect hesitated about obtaining a real gun due to the relatively high price.
He then placed an order for 9mm bullets a cost of 1,000 baht and transferred the money for the purchase. A few days later, he rreceived a parcel at his condominium room in Sathon district, which contained real bullets.
The teen subsequently ordered a modified blank gun, later used in the deadly shooting at the shopping mall.
The investigation also found that the suspect lacked sufficient funds to acquire the blank gun. He then borrowed money through an online money lending application and later transferred 16,000 baht to the seller, who later sent the gun to his condo.
During questioning, Mr Suwannahong and Mr Akkharawit denied all charges.
A police source said the teenager had transferred the money to Mr Suwannahong’s bank account, and the man later withdrew the funds at an ATM booth at a petrol station in Yala.
It was revealed that Mr Akkharawit was running a Facebook page to sell firearms online. The page had been opened for about five months before being shut down around 10.20 pm on the day of the shooting rampage.
Mr Piyabut was involved as he sold and sent 9mm bullets to the teenager.
Chaos erupted at Siam Paragon on Rama 1 Road in Pathum Wan district close to peak hours on Tuesday, with hundreds fleeing as gunshots rang out. The dead were two women from China and Myanmar.
The teenager was arrested late on Tuesday shortly after the shooting spree.
Maj Gen Samran Nuanma said the suspect had modified a gun designed for firing blank rounds to enable it to use live ammunition.
The boy facing murder and other charges has been remanded to a juvenile detention centre where he will undergo a psychiatric assessment.