KHON KAEN: Police believe they already have the murderer of a Lao businessman in custody, based on information from his recently arrested accomplices.
The suspect was identified as Winyu Chantaphod, 33, also known as Mued. He was arrested in this northeastern province on Sunday, the same day Lao national Suthad Thadjampa was found slain in Ubon Ratana district, his throat slashed and his face smashed in.
Pol Col Pongrit Kongsirisombat, the investigative superintendent of Provincial Police Region 4, said on Wednesday night that police on Sunday arrested Wirat Sangpao, 30, who hails from Ubon Ratana district.
He told officers he was with Mr Winyu all Saturday night.
Mr Winyu had him buy three bottles of petrol and then took him to Khao Suan Kwang district, where they burned Suthad's pickup, he said. Then a friend took Mr Wirat home on a motorcycle.
Mr Wirat claimed he had no idea Mr Winyu might have murdered someone, Pol Col Pongrit said.
Pol Col Yuthakorn Wongwian, chief of Ubon Ratana police station, said officers also arrested another suspect, identified only as Art, who is believed to have Mr Winyu move the pickup from a roadside area on Saturday night. Art denied any knowledge of the murder, police said.
Witness statements and surveillance camera footage indicated that Mr Winyu drove the dead man's truck on both Friday and Saturday nights, and police believe he was the murderer, Pol Col Yuthakorn said.
A conflict over illegal narcotics led to the murder of Suthad, who was from Vientiane but worked as a construction contractor in Khon Kaen.
Pol Lt Gen Surachai Kuandachacupt, commissioner of the Provincial Police Region 4, said yesterday Suthad had supplied drugs to traffickers in Ubon Ratana, Khao Suan Kwang and Nam Phon districts and was due to collect the money later.
His murder was intended to wipe out their debts resulting from the drugs trade, Pol Lt Gen Surachai said.
Police said earlier this year they were considering adjusting their narcotics suppression strategies after statistics from previous crackdowns pointed to a surge in the amount of drugs reaching Bangkok and the central provinces.
