Link suspected between smuggled cigarettes and gun-running

TRAT - Three large bundles of cigarettes worth 2-3 million baht have been found floating in the sea after an unregistered speedboat sank in this eastern border province, amid suspicions of links to previous weapons-smuggling cases.

Most of the cigarettes were waterlogged and no longer suitable for smoking.

Police coordinated with the Trat office of the Excise Department to seize the cigarettes as evidence while investigating their origin and tracking down those involved.

The discovery has been linked to an incident in which an unregistered speedboat struck rocks and sank off Koh Kradat, about 10km north of Koh Kut, on Wednesday night.

The three people aboard the speedboat were residents of tambon Pranit in Khao Saming district on the Trat mainland. Authorities said they were reportedly associated with a man who had links to a now-deceased influential figure in the district.

Their alleged involvement in the smuggling operation remains under investigation.

Dechathorn Chan-ob, chief of the Koh Kut subdistrict administrative organisation, said the sunken vessel not believed to have been used for tourism, as the incident had not been reported through the Line groups normally used by tourism operators and local networks to coordinate assistance.

Meanwhile, Suthat Thoddara, a Trat provincial councillor, said the Laem Ngop Marine Police had raised the possibility that the incident was linked to a network previously arrested in connection with the smuggling of military-grade weapons and ammunition.

On Nov 1, authorities seized 32,400 rounds of 7.62mm assault rifle ammunition from a speedboat in tambon Saen Tung of Khao Saming. Four Thai nationals and a Cambodian were arrested.

That case was linked to another incident on Aug 21, when officers seized two AK-47 rifles, more than 24,000 rounds of ammunition and other items smuggled from Cambodia.

In the latest case, the Thai Maritime Enforcement Command Center (Thai-MECC) has secured the area where the speedboat sank and restricted access by other agencies to facilitate further operations. Authorities suspect there may be other illegal items inside the vessel.