CHUMPHON — Unidentified gunmen shot two Burmese men and stole the 52,000 baht lottery winnings they was carrying in Chumpon province, police say.

Ha, 31, was found dead next to his motorcycle on an isolated mountain road in Chonmaikaew subdistrict yesterday evening. Another Burmese man named Pia, who had been shot in his left leg, was hiding in the woods near the crime scene, police say.

Pia told the officers he had recently won 52,000 baht through an underground lottery. He brought his friend Ha to collect the prize money, and while the pair was driving home to celebrate, two masked men flanked their motorcycle and opened fire. Ha was immediately killed and Pia was shot and injured in the leg, he told police.

The two gunmen then reportedly searched Ha's body and fled with all of the lottery money. 

Police said they believe the gunmen began trailing the two Burmese men after they received the money from the underground dealer, who Pia identified as a man named Kiew in Huay Yai village. The incident is currently under investigation. 

Underground lotteries, in which players bet on last three digits of the official lottery's winning number, is an illegal but popular business in Thailand.

BANGKOK — The firearms allegedly confiscated from suspected militants during a raid in the insurgency-plagued province of Pattani were not used in any previous shooting attacks in the region, forensic tests revealed today.

The guns were found by security officers who conducted a raid on To Chud village on 25 March that left four civilians dead. Authorities said the raid was an effort to arrest Islamic insurgents who were meeting to plot attacks in the region, and that the suspects fired at security officers first.

The entrance to To Chud village in Pattani province, 26 March 2015.

A high-ranking officer at the Office of Police Forensic Science told Khaosod today that none of the confiscated weapons were used in any previous attacks connected to the insurgency, which has rattled the region since 2004. 

"Based on inspections by the Forensic Integrated Database System, we discovered that none of the firearms have ever been used in any previous incident," said the officer, who asked not to be named because of the sensitivity of the case.

The forensic department maintains detailed records of bullets and other evidence gathered from the sites of attacks in the area, the officer said.

The results of the forensic tests are likely to deepen suspicions among local residents and relatives of the four men who have accused authorities of "planting" the weapons on bodies of the victims to falsely implicate them. 

Police initially told media that two of the four men killed in the raid belonged to RKK, one of several militant groups behind the Islamic insurgency, but later said that none of the deceased had any pre-existing records or arrest warrants related to the separatist violence. 

According to relatives of the victims and community leaders, two of the men were Fatoni University students in their twenties, one was a known drug addict with no links to the insurgency, and the fourth victim was a 32-year-old man preparing to assist Thai authorities as a Village Defense volunteer after two of his relatives were killed by militants. 

Twenty-two men were also arrested at the scene and taken to army camps for interrogation. Sixteen were released several days later without charges. 

Following public demands for an impartial review of the incident, Thai authorities appointed a 15-member panel to investigate the raid. The panel includes representatives from the military, local administration, Central Islamic Council of Thailand, and Fatoni University, among other agencies. The panel’s report is expected on 3 April.

Police also say seven soldiers will be charged with murder for their role in the raid, though the men failed to report to hear their charges yesterday. Police said the suspects postponed their meeting "indefinitely," but declined to comment further.

More than 6,200 people have been killed since secessionist violence broke out in the three southern border provinces of Pattani, Yala, and Narathiwat in early 2004, according to data compiled by rights groups. In an effort to quell the insurgency, which aims to create an independent Islamic state, approximately 60,000 security officers are stationed in the region. 

Although suspected insurgent attacks are responsible for the majority of casualties, human rights activists have also documented cases of excessive brutality and foul play by security officers in the region. 

In August, a volunteer ranger admitted to killing a local 14-year-old boy and planting a firearm on his body to implicate him as an insurgent. 

PATTANI — Five homemade bombs exploded almost simultaneously last night in the southern border province of Pattani, a week after a controversial military raid in the province left four local residents dead.

According to police, the bombs exploded at around 2 am in four different sites across the province’s capital. Three bombs reportedly targeted shops in the city, and two were detonated near electric poles on Bana – Laem Nok Road, causing a total of six poles to collapse onto the street. 

Damage caused by a homemade bomb in Pattani province, 2 April 2010.

The homemade explosives, which consisted of gas canisters and timed detonators, did not cause any injuries or deaths, police said.

Islamic insurgents seeking to secede Pattani and its two neighboring provinces have been locked in a bloody conflict with Thai authorities since 2004. The violence has claimed more than 6,000 lives in the region, which has been governed under martial law for the past nine years. Although most of the deaths have been caused by suspected insurgent attacks, authorities have also been faulted for their heavy-handed tactics.

Today’s string of bomb attacks followed a fatal raid carried out by soldiers, police, and paramilitary rangers on To Chud village on 25 March.

Authorities said the operation was an effort to arrest insurgents plotting to stage attacks in the region, and initially told the media that two of the four men killed in the raid belonged to RKK, one of several militant groups behind the insurgency.

However, it later emerged that none of the deceased had any pre-existing records or arrest warrants related to the secessionist movement. According to relatives of the victims and community leaders, two of the men were Fatoni University students in their twenties, one was a known drug addict with no links to the insurgency, and the fourth victim was a 32-year-old man preparing to assist Thai authorities as a Village Defense volunteer after two of his relatives were killed by militants. 

Commenting on the raid today, Thailand’s army chief said To Chud village has long been known as a place where insurgents regularly gather for meetings.

"Let me explain that the village that was besieged in the seach-and-arrest operation, and where the fatal clash took place, is an area that has problems with narcotics, and perpetrators of violent incidents use it as a gathering place," Gen. Udomdet Sitabutr said today.  "Intelligence reports reached security officers, so there was a necessity to act."   

He added that ten of the 22 men detained in the raid tested positive for drug use. The men were taken to army camps for interrogation, and sixteen were released several days later without any charges. 

Gen. Udomdet also told reporters that the army would accept the findings of a 15-member panel appointed to investigate the raid. The panel, which was formed in response to demands from the community, includes representatives from the military, local administration, Central Islamic Council of Thailand, and Fatoni University, among other agencies. 

"If there is any wrongdoing, we are willing to admit it," Gen. Udomdet said. "Our works to solve problems in the border provinces are based on our sincerity for the people. I and my subordinate officers understand well that we have to be proper and straightforward. Otherwise, we won't have any credibility. What is right is right. What is wrong, we will frankly say it is wrong." 

The panel’s report is expected on 3 April. Police also say seven soldiers will be charged with murder for their role in the raid, though the seven men failed to report to police to hear their charges yesterday. Police said the suspects postponed their meeting "indefinitely," but declined to comment further.

There are an estimated 60,000 security officers deployed in the three southern border provinces of Pattani, Yala, and Narathiwat, a region known as the Deep South. The controversy surrounding the fatal raid has highlighted the deep mistrust of Thai authorities among locals in region. 

In another incident this morning, two men were shot dead by unidentified gunmen as they were riding a motorcycle in Narathiwat province at around 7 am. One of the victims was later identified as a local defense volunteer. Police say the man's firearms were taken away by the assailants.