Police in Chiang Mai arrested a 50 year old man yesterday, October 7, after raiding a home where he allegedly made and sold illegal air guns online. Officers acted on a search warrant from Chiang Mai Provincial Court after spotting the weapons for sale online.
Police said they learned that high-pressure air guns, known as PCP guns, were being sold illegally in a Facebook group of about 22,000 followers and members. A separate Facebook user with about 3,300 friends was also advertising PCP guns.
Officers set up an undercover sting operation by buying a weapon from a Facebook page. The seller reportedly used a fake profile name and sold directly to members of a private group.
When the team arrived at the property, police found a hidden warehouse used to produce illegal firearms. They arrested Duangjan, a Mae Faek resident, inside the warehouse, according to police.
Officers seized four PCP air guns, two scopes, three separate air cylinders, lead pellets with assembly kits, and 17 rounds of .22 ammunition. They also took accessories and equipment for making and assembling the weapons.
Duangjan faces a charge of making, assembling, possessing or selling firearms or ammunition for trade without permission. He is in police custody and will face legal action, though specific charges have not yet been announced.
Duangjan told police he ordered metal parts from online shopping platforms, then assembled them in his home workshop to create working, high-powered weapons without any permits. He said he has 15 years of experience building weapons.
He sold each homemade air gun for between 9,500 and 11,500 baht, at about two to five guns a month, police said. His monthly income was about 20,000 to 50,000 baht, before costs. He also had orders waiting to be produced for several customers.
Police said the arrest came from an investigation by the team aimed at deterring illegal sales on social media, noting that illegal air guns seized in the raid are against the law because their pressure can be raised high enough to harm other people, and that using them to hunt animals would also have other effects.
In related news:
- Thai police arrest 186 suspects, seize 228 guns nationwide
- Pattaya man arrested for turning blank guns into live weapons
- Man arrested in Bangkok for selling illegal firearms online
The story Police sting nets Chiang Mai man over air gun sales as seen on Thaiger News.
