Camronwit's gun found to be unregistered
JAPANESE forensic authorities have learned that the gun the former Metropolitan Police commissioner Camronwit Toopkrajank had allegedly taken from Thailand was not legally registered, a source said yesterday.
Authorities took the North American Arms .22-calibre gun to determine its power and check if it was legally registered after Camronwit was arrested at Tokyo’s Narita International Airport on Monday for carrying a weapon.
A highly placed source in Japan said the gun had only Arabic numbers and English letters crafted by the factory that produced the gun, identifying the country in which the gun was sold. He did not say which country.
The source said if the gun was legally registered and taxes were paid, it should have had Thai numbers and letters on the handle as the North American Arms .22 is a small pistol.
The source said it would depend on the Japanese prosecutors’ judgement as to whether Camronwit would face heavier punishment for illegally carrying arms. He said carrying a gun is a serious crime, and whether or not the pistol was legal or not may be irrelevant.
Camronwit remains in police custody in Tokyo, pending prosecution.
National police chief General Somyot Poompanmuang instructed Police Region One commissioner Pol Lt-General Amnuay Nimano to find out how Camronwit was able to depart Thailand with the gun, and Amnuay then instructed Samut Prakan provincial chief Pol Maj-General Thana Chuwong to probe the incident.
Thana reported that Camronwit had arrived at Suvarnabhumi Airport with three bags that were checked in, while his two carry-on bags – one on wheels and another with a strap – passed through X-ray without any banned objects being detected. He was flying business class with Thai Airways.
Camronwit’s aide had earlier said that the former top cop usually packed his medication in checked-in luggage, but the day he was arrested in Tokyo, his medication bag was in his hand luggage. The pistol was found in his medication bag.
The former police officer left Thailand for Japan on a Thursday by Thai Airways flight TG 640 at 9pm and was arrested while he was about to leave Japan for Thailand on Monday at 5pm.
