AYUTTHAYA -- Three bodies found buried in a paddy field in Maha Rat district on Monday were probably the victims of drug traffickers, police said on Tuesday.
A criminal background check showed all three had been involved in drug cases, said Pol Maj Gen Sutthi Phuangphikul, chief of the Ayutthaya provincial police.
The dead men were identified as Somphal Boonsanoon, 39, Phairach Homcha-iam, 38, and Samruam Wong-aksorn, 32, who were friends and lived in tambon of Ban Na, Pol Maj Gen Sutthi said.
The bodies had been sent to Thammasat University Hospital for post-mortem examination to confirm the exact cause death. Police investigators strongly believed at this point the three men were murdered and their bodies later buried in the field, he said.
Investigators were focusing on the motive being a conflict with a drug gang. Somphal had recently been released from prison after serving a sentence for a drug offence, and eight methamphetamine tablets were found on the body of Samruam.
All three bodies had gunshot wounds, he said.
The bodies were discovered on Monday by a villager about 200 metres off the road. The man reportedly noticed tarry-like objects in an area of ground that had been freshly dug.
On closer look the man decided they were parts of burned mobile phones. His suspicions aroused, he reported the find to the authorities.
Police collected the burned phones for examination. When they dug up the freshly turned soil they found the first body, the reports said. Two other dead bodies were found buried about 500m into the paddy field.
Phatchari Boonsanoon, 43, said her brother Somphal left home on a motorcycle on Aug 6 and had not returned.
