SATTAHIP, CHON BURI — Police in Phlu Ta Luang have arrested a 54-year-old factory worker after finding nine homemade firearms and 76 rounds of ammunition in his possession, officials said.
At about 7 p.m. on Aug. 26th, 2026, officers from Phlu Ta Luang Police Station in Sattahip district detained Manit Jaengsaeng, also known as Nit, an employee at a factory in the area. Pol. Col. Wutthiphong Somjai, superintendent of Phlu Ta Luang Police Station, led the operation with deputy superintendent Pol. Lt. Col. Chaimongkol Janthaphrom, investigative inspector Pol. Capt. Jakkraphop Inran, and members of the station’s investigation team.
Police said they acted on information that Manit had been carrying a firearm and intimidating people at work. Officers checked him near the Km 10 market in Moo 1 in the Phlu Ta Luang subdistrict, and found a homemade .38-caliber pistol and ammunition in a shoulder bag he was carrying.
A search of his bronze Nissan Navara pickup truck turned up another homemade 9 mm pistol. A subsequent search of his home found seven more guns, bringing the total to nine firearms plus a large quantity of mixed-caliber ammunition.
Police listed the seized weapons as:
– one homemade .38 pistol
– one homemade 9 mm pistol
– two homemade .22 rifles
– two homemade .22 pistols
– one 9 mm pen gun
– two .22 pen guns
The ammunition included eight .38 rounds, six .357 rounds, 29 nine-millimeter rounds, one .45 round and 32 .22 rounds, totaling 76. Officers also seized a black fabric holster, a black ammunition pouch and several shoulder bags.
Manit was charged with possessing firearms and ammunition without a license and carrying a firearm in a city, village or public place without permission. He was handed over to investigators at Phlu Ta Luang Police Station for further legal action.
He told police the guns belonged to him and that he had made and collected them because of a personal interest in firearms. He said he made the first weapon about 10 years ago and bought ammunition from a gun shop in the north. He said he tested the weapons in cassava fields and wooded areas near his home and sometimes used them to hunt animals such as squirrels.
Pol. Col. Wutthiphong said the arrest followed a Royal Thai Police campaign to crack down on crime and illegal firearms, including unlicensed possession and illegal sales offline and online. He urged the public to report suspected crime or illegal guns to the 191 or 1599 hotlines, which operate 24 hours a day.
