Marine police intercepted a speedboat carrying war weapons in the sea off Trat, seizing two AK-47 rifles and over 24,000 rounds of ammunition. One suspect was arrested, claiming he was merely hired to transport goods and unaware they were weapons, having received them from Cambodians near the sea.
On 24 Aug 2026, Police Major General Setthasiri Nippaya, Commander of the Marine Police Division, ordered Police Colonel Singhchai Thanchaisit, Chief of Division 5, and Police Captain Phithak Kitti of Marine Police Station 5, along with marine police officers, to arrest Somjit, 51, on charges of jointly possessing firearms, ammunition, or explosives that cannot be legally licensed, carrying firearms in towns, villages, or public places without reasonable cause or permission, possessing military-grade weapons and equipment without authorization, and operating a boat without a license.
Evidence seized included two AK-47 rifles, 23,640 rounds of AK-47 ammunition, 765 rounds of 12.7mm machine gun ammunition, 102 AK-47 magazines, and a white-blue speedboat without a name or registration number, with a gross tonnage of 3.37 tons. The arrest took place at a pier in Village 2, Khlong Yai Subdistrict, Laem Ngop District, Trat Province.
This arrest followed information received by Laem Ngop marine police, naval intelligence officers, and the First Naval Area intelligence that a speedboat would be used to pick up suspicious goods at sea near Koh Kut island and bring them ashore in Laem Ngop District, Trat. Authorities deployed forces to monitor the boat’s movements from the moment it left the pier.
Authorities later spotted the target speedboat returning toward the pier it had departed from. Marine police patrol boats intercepted and searched it, finding a large amount of weapons and ammunition. Somjit was then taken into custody for prosecution.
During interrogation, Somjit confessed that he was hired to transport goods but did not know the items were war weapons. He stated that all weapons and ammunition were received from Cambodians who delivered them by boat at sea near Koh Kut island. Afterwards, he and Sakarin planned to bring the speedboat back to the pier in Khlong Yai Subdistrict, Laem Ngop District, the same location from which the boat had departed.
At the time officers took control and searched the boat, Sakarin, also known as “Tu,” an accomplice, escaped amid the confusion. Somjit was taken to Laem Ngop Police Station for legal proceedings, while authorities are actively pursuing Sakarin to bring him to justice for his involvement.