Songkhla: Police have offered a 10,000-baht reward for information leading to the arrest of a murder and drug suspect whose "Kim Sua Phukhao Thong" gang severely injured a 19-year-old man.
Thipakon Kaeowichit, 28, also known as Kim Sua, who is wanted in connection with the murder of a police informant last year, is alleged to have colluded with six subordinates in abducting the teenager over a 4,000-baht debt the gang claimed the victim owed them for a drugs purchase.
Khlong Hoi Khong police chief Saksit Misaeng is planning a hunt after one of the gangsters, who turned herself in to officers, said Mr Thipakon vowed he will never surrender.
The suspect, identified as Chanaphon Namnoi, 20, told investigators Mr Thipakon will "fight until death" if police attempt to arrest him.
He has gone into hiding armed with an M16 assault rifle and grenades and is bracing for a raid, she said. It is not known if he took henchmen with him as they step up their search.
However, Pol Col Saksit and investigators have said they will continue their hunt for the suspects and have offered a reward for information.
Earlier, the officers combed three areas in tambon Khlong Lao in Songkhla's Hoi Khong district, but the six suspects managed to escape.
The officers found two pistols during their operation.
Late last month, Mr Thipakon's gang abducted the teenager and detained him in a rubber plantation in Hoi Khong.
The gangsters stripped him, hit him with PVC pipes and urinated on him, according to the investigators.
Mr Thipakon is also wanted for separate drugs and murder offences.
In the middle of last year, his gang allegedly abducted a 22-year-old man in Songkhla's Hat Yai district. He was killed and his body dumped in a sewer.
