RATCHABURI — A suspected drug trafficking target was killed during a police operation in Ratchaburi on 22 June after allegedly opening fire on officers attempting to search a property, critically wounding a police volunteer.
Pol. Col. Phuchong Narong-in, superintendent of Photharam Police Station, said officers were called to a house in Chamrae subdistrict, Photharam district, at about 16:10 after reports of a shooting.
Investigators found officers from Ban Pong Police Station, led by Pol. Col. Kobchok Lektrakul, surrounding the property. The injured victim, later identified as 45-year-old police volunteer Thanakorn Phaengphon, had already been taken to Photharam Hospital with critical injuries.
Police said the suspect was identified and 38 yeard old. He remained inside a white Honda Jazz parked outside the house while officers attempted to negotiate his surrender. Relatives were brought in to call on him to exit the vehicle, but he did not respond.
After more than an hour of negotiations, officers from Provincial Police Region 7, Ratchaburi Provincial Police and the Special Operations Unit (NPA) arrived at the scene. Investigators from Region 7’s “Insee 7” unit then approached the vehicle with ballistic shields and used a hammer to break a window.
Officers found the suspect dead in the driver’s seat. The seat had been reclined and a 9 mm handgun was found resting on his chest. Three magazines and a replica firearm were also recovered inside the vehicle.
Police said the suspect had sustained multiple gunshot wounds to his right arm and torso. Numerous bullet holes were found in the vehicle’s door. Officers also discovered a large amount of cash, methamphetamine tablets and crystal methamphetamine inside the car, all of which were seized as evidence.
According to investigators, relatives had previously informed Ban Pong police that the suspect was involved in drug trafficking and wanted authorities to help persuade him to stop. Police said he was already under surveillance as a narcotics suspect.
Officers initially went to a residence in Ban Pong district to locate him but were unable to find him. They later learned he had travelled to his mother’s house in Chamrae subdistrict and followed him there.
Police said investigators believed the suspect was inside the house and moved in to conduct a search. However, he was allegedly sitting inside the parked car and opened fire, critically wounding the police volunteer assisting with the operation.
Nearby officers returned fire in self-defence, police said, though it remains unclear when the fatal shots were inflicted. Reinforcements were later called in to secure the area and continue negotiations before officers discovered that the suspect had already died inside the vehicle.
Because the case involves a fatal police shooting, forensic officers, prosecutors, medical personnel and administrative officials were called to the scene as part of the mandatory investigation process.
Police said the suspect had previously been arrested in several narcotics cases and had been released from prison about two years ago after serving a sentence in a drug-related case.
Authorities are continuing their investigation.
