Photos courtesy of Bangkok Post
Police recently cracked down on makers and sellers of illegal pen guns, which are often sold online to college students.
Read the following story from the Bangkok Post to learn more about this police operation.
Police arrested 26-year-old Prakit Phomma at his home in Sri Don Chai sub-district of Chiang Rai as part of a crackdown on illegal firearms in early November. Police said that they confiscated 13 pen guns with small bullets, as well as springs and steel pipes which they think Prakit used to make the guns.
Police said that pen guns are used by students in fights between rival colleges.
TEEN IN TROUBLE
The crackdown on illegal firearms was launched in 26 different areas nationwide targeting key producers, distributors and buyers of illegal firearms. The crackdown was ordered after police arrested a 17-year-old from Prachuap Khiri Khan for selling pen guns online.
An undercover police officer contacted the teen to buy a gun from him. Not realising the true identity of the buyer, the suspect supplied the gun to the officer, police said.
Police tracked down the suspect to a post office in Hua Hin district of Prachuap Khiri Khan province where he was caught. They found parcels which the suspect had posted at the post office. They contained two pen guns with bullets.
According to police, the suspect said he usually mailed his products to customers who placed orders via Facebook. He had allegedly supplied more than 50 pen guns to customers, mostly youngsters, between October and November.
CRACKDOWN RESULTS
The suspect also allegedly confessed to selling pen guns which were supplied by a group of friends in Chiang Rai province who produced and supplied the guns for him to sell online.
Police went on to say that they arrested 20 more suspects involved in the home-made gun trade and seized several types of pen guns along with ammunition during their weekend raids looking for illegal arms. The suspects were charged with making and distributing illegal guns and ammunition.
Exercises
Read the story and decide whether the following statements are true or false.
1. Prakit was arrested in Chiang Rai.
………………
2. Prakit is in his thirties.
………………
3. Prakit was arrested for stealing guns.
………………
4. The crackdown covered 26 areas in the north of Thailand only.
………………
Vocabulary
- pen gun (n): a disguised firearm that resembles an ink pen and fires small caliber bullets
firearm (n): a gun that can be carried
undercover (adj): working or done secretly in order to find out information for the police, a government, etc.
ammunition (n): a supply of bullets, etc. to be fired from guns
