College student claims gang membership, just returned from entertainment venue before hitting Bangkok police officer
Two 20-year-old men from Chiang Rai were arrested after their vehicle hit a Bangkok police officer at an alcohol checkpoint on Bang Na-Trat Road; police found a loaded pistol hidden in the car and one suspect confessed to gang membership.
Police arrested two 20-year-old men from Chiang Rai province following a hit-and-run incident on May 22, 2569 in which a white Mitsubishi Expander struck Deputy Inspector Tharan Phiromjitcharoen while he was conducting an alcohol checkpoint on Bang Na-Trat Road. The driver and passenger sustained serious injuries after the collision. Officers recovered a Glock 19 pistol with 24 rounds concealed in the vehicle's spare tire compartment. One suspect, identified as Akrawin, admitted to being an active member of the Oreo gang, a youth group previously in the news for gang violence and illegal weapons possession. He claimed he and his friend had just returned from an entertainment venue in the Rangsit area and denied consuming alcohol, attributing any disorientation to unspecified substances. Police charged the driver with illegal weapons possession and reckless endangerment causing serious injury, while charging the passenger with illegal weapons possession and transporting firearms in public without justification. Akrawin has a prior criminal record involving five cases of assault and weapons violations.