Probe on stolen army weapons underway

BANGKOK, March 7 (TNA) — An investigation into massive losses of weapons and explosives stolen from an arms depot of a military camp in the southern province of Phatthalung is underway, according to Panitan Wattanayagorn, acting government spokesman.

The incident was reported to police and concerned officials last Thursday, said Dr Panitan, adding that investigators were checking whether the stolen weapons and explosives were secretly transported within the insurgency-affected southern provinces or to Bangkok where anti-government protesters from the United Front for Democracy against Dictatorship (UDD) plan to hold a mass demonstration next Sunday aimed at ousting the government.

UDD activists nationwide will begin moving to Bangkok March 12 and will gather at Sanam Luang in the morning of March 14.

Asked whether the Fourth Army Region which is responsible for security in the South should be held accountable for the loss of the materiel, Dr Panitan said the probe is focusing on whether it was an inside job.

Security at other army weaponry warehouses, especially in Bangkok, has been tightened following Thursday’s incident, he added. (TNA)