Camronwit still stuck in Japanese custody
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Former top cop's son, lawyer visit him as investigation into gun case continues
POL LT-GENERAL Camronwit Toopkrajank, a former Metropolitan Police commissioner, remains in police custody in Tokyo after he was arrested for carrying a gun into Narita International Airport on Monday.
A source said Camronwit’s son and his lawyer visited him yesterday. “He tried to assure them that he is fine,” the source said.
Camronwit was travelling with a group of Thais when he landed in legal trouble. He said he had unintentionally put the gun in his carry-on luggage.
Officials at Narita Airport detected a suspicious item in the carry-on luggage and found the small weapon.
The source disclosed that the North American Arms .22-calbre gun was a gift from one of Camronwit’s friends.
“He has now assigned a close|aide to contact his friend to get the registration papers for the gun, which will be used as evidence,” the source said.
An official of the Japanese government, when contacted by the Kom Chad Luek newspaper, reportedly said the gun was inside Camronwit’s medicine bag and it was loaded with five bullets.
“Records show that judging by his facial expression, Camronwit was shocked to have seen the gun there. Speaking via a guide, he claimed he had no intention to carry a firearm on to an aircraft … he didn’t know that the gun was inside his medicine bag,” the official said.
Speaking on condition of anonymity, the official said the investigation found that Camronwit put the medicine bag in the carry-on luggage for a flight out of Bangkok on June 18.
The official said police had submitted the gun to Japan’s Scientific Crime Detection Unit to determine its power and whether it was legally registered.
“Public prosecutors will then decide whether to pursue a case against Camronwit,” the official said, warning that gun-related offences in Japan carried harsh punishments.
“The offence is particularly serious as he took the gun into the airport and was about to board a flight,” the official said.
