NAKHON SI THAMMARAT: A member of an organisd drug network was shot dead during a clash with and a group of armed men in Phrommakhiri district late on Wednesday night, according to police.
The shootout occurred at a rubber plantation in tambon Thonhong around 11pm, Pol Lt Col Roengchai Ratkitja, chief investigator for Phrommakhiri district, said.
Local police were dispatched to the plantation after being informed that members of a major drug network in the district used it as their meeting place. When they arrived they found four men gathered there.
When police asked them to stop for a search the men ran away, firing shots as they fled. Police returned fire.
Afterwards, a man identified later as Sarawut Jitpong, 25, was found dead of gunshot wounds. The remaining gang members made good their escape. A .38 handgun was also found at the scene of the clash.
Pol Maj Gen Wanchai Ekpornpit, chief of Nakhon Si Thammarat, said on Thursday that police had arrested a major drug dealer and seized about 180,000 speed pills and 6kg of crystal methamphetamine from the suspect’s house in Phrommakhiri district on Wednesday.
They extended the investigation, leading to the gunfight at the rubber plantation on Wednesday night.
