Four Myanmar nationals arrested over Suvarnabhumi drone disruption

The Metropolitan Police Bureau said officers raided a hotel near Suvarnabhumi Airport and arrested four Myanmar nationals after receiving intelligence that a room there was being used to control drones that caused alarm and raised aviation security concerns on the night of December 21.

Police said they seized 10 drones during the search. Investigators found that all four suspects checked into the hotel on December 21, with the room booked online by a man identified only as “David”, whose surname remains unknown.

During questioning, the suspects told officers they had been contacted by their supervisor, a Myanmar national, and instructed to travel to Thailand to receive the drones before taking them into Myanmar.

Police said the drones were delivered to the hotel by a private logistics firm. The suspects claimed the devices were to be transported out of Thailand by dismantling them and packing the parts into boxes rather than assembling them into complete units, with each person carrying about two to three boxes on commercial passenger flights.

Once in Myanmar, the drones were to be handed to a supervisor named Kevin Cho, who is said to operate a company in Myanmar, for onward sale to Myanmar’s military.

Police said the seized drones were forwarded to investigators at Lat Krabang Police Station for further examination and evidence-gathering. 

Authorities also said they were preparing to revoke the visas of all four suspects and submit the case to the commander of Immigration Division 1, while holding the suspects in detention as the investigation expands.