A CONTRACTOR found that the house he rented to store construction equipment is a hiding place for destructive materials, a report published by Thai-language Thai Rath newspaper said on Friday (Dec. 8).
Duty Officer Police Captain Nuttakrit Konglod of Rayong’s Klaeng police station was informed of 3 hand grenades and some narcotics found in a house at Krasae Bon sub-district, Klaeng district, Rayong province.
He then notified his superintendent, Police Colonel Chaipong Saengpongchai, and coordinated with Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) unit stationed in Rayong along with the police’s investigation team to inspect the scene.
Upon reaching the reported one-story townhouse, located in a housing estate, the authorities saw 30-year-old Mr. Danaithep Chansamran standing frightened pass the opened front gate, waiting.
Mr. Danaithep then led the officers into the house where a blue backpack was found laid on the floor. Inside, there was a black plastic bag over a blue plastic bag which held a paper box.
The box itself was tightly sealed with duct tape. The officers managed to open the box to find 2 more layers of paper and foam wraps similar to a mail parcel package. It was beyond these wrappings that the officers found black adhesive tape neatly wound around each of the 3 hand grenades. Also found within the box were Yaba (amphetamines) and Ice (crystal methamphetamine) drugs.
If was revealed after the EOD officers led by Police Lieutenant Suradet Maneepitak had inspected and rendered the items safe that 2 of the 3 hand grenades were M67 and one an M26 anti-personnel fragmentation hand grenade. For the narcotics, there were 92.75 grams of Ice and 200 pills of Yaba substances.
According to Mr. Danaithep’s statement to the police, he was the person who found the explosives and narcotics. He and his fellow construction contractor had rented the house since April 2017 as a place to keep their construction tools and equipment but never for residence.
It was only when they came back to clean the house and pick up their tools on Friday that they found an unidentified box sitting in a parking space in front of the house. He was shocked to find the hand grenades inside, so he quickly stepped back, then called the police. He had no idea who could possibly be the owner of this box since this was the first time in 6 months that he came back.
The police assumed that box could belong to some drug dealers or drug addicts who intentionally place it here to hide it from the police, thinking this was an abandoned house. It was also suspected that the box owner could be someone from the neighborhood.
The police are conducting further investigation, such as interviewing closer neighbors and checking available CCTV footage to look for more clues.
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Top: The bag in which the grenades and drugs were found. Photo: Thai Rath
By Piboon Awasdaruharote
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