Thirteen suspects were arrested, two of whom face charges of racketeering, theft and possessing of stolen assets, while the rest were accused of violations under the Firearms Act, the Gambling Act and the Pawnshops Act, Pol Maj-General Surachet Hakpan told a press conference in Bangkok on Thursday. Officers were checking to see if the vehicles were stolen and equipped with fake licence plates or if they had been pawned by owners to pay their debts. The combined security operation followed three previous crackdown raids on June 15, June 22 and July 6, with the last action securing evidence that had implicated more suspects resulting in the fourth raid, Surachet said. All of the operations stemmed from investigations into car and motorcycle thefts, in which the vehicles were fitted with fake licence plates and sent for sale outside the country. The suspects also allegedly ran gun trafficking and illegal money lending services.

Source: The Nation Bangkok July 27, 2017 09:33 UTC