Ex-Bangkok police chief caught with gun at Narita airport (UPDATE #6)

Only CCTV video footage of Kamronwit in airport, x-ray luggage scans already erased. State security officials allegedly suspect plot to discredit Thailand's aviation safety image. Decision by Japanese authorities on whether to continue with criminal case within 20 days - Ex-Bangkok city police chief arrested at Tokyo's Narita International Airport for possession of gun & ammunition.

UPDATE #6

Luggage scans already erased, so no conclusive proof Kamronwit travelled with gun

The only evidence of the  the security checks conducted on Pol Lt Gen Kamronwit at the airport last Thursday is CCTV footage. The airport was unable to provide evidence from the CTX luggage scanner as scanner records are only stored for three days. So it cannot be proved, at least with hard evidence, whether or not Pol Lt Gen Kamronwit travelled with his gun. Only storing images for three days is normal practice, as recommended by the CTX manufacturing company.

The airport CCTV images show Pol Lt Gen Kamronwit checking in a 16-kg bag to be scanned and loaded onto the plane. After checking in for his flight, the former city police chief then went to the security checkpoint area, as an ordinary passenger and not through a VIP gateway as was earlier reported. His two carry-on bags were then X-rayed. His checked-in luggage passed the first stage of the CTX scanner, and since they had found nothing suspicious in this first scan, airport staff did not submit the luggage to the four additional stages of examination the CTX scan offers. He had to pass through a walk-through X-ray machine twice as the alarm sounded the first time. He removed his shoes, which were X-rayed as well, and passed the second time without any further problems.

All security measures at Suvarnbhumi airport are said to be up to national and international standards. All airports worldwide use the same procedures including Narita airport in Japan. However, the CTX scanners have been in use since the airport opened and some claim its efficiency may have deteriorated over time.

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UPDATE #5

Jail term may await Kamronwit in Thailand

The former Bangkok police chief Kamronwit Thoopkrachang may be charged with smuggling a gun out of Thailand as airport authorities move to tighten luggage screening procedures, transport authorities said on Thursday.

If Pol Lt Gen Kamronwit was found guilty of taking a small gun and five bullets out of the country without seeking prior permission from the airline, he could receive a jail term of up to two years and/or a fine of up to 80,000 baht. However, there was no data to confirm if his gun had been in any of his luggage because the luggage screening system only stores x-ray images for three days.

As this case is raising doubts about security checks on outbound travellers at Suvarnabhumi airport, Airports of Thailand (AOT) plans to review its weapons detection system to find out if it was a human or machine error, and whether an upgrade is needed.  CTX (computer tomography x-ray) screening machines that are used to examine checked luggage, but the machines have been in use for a long time and their software might be outdated.

CTX machines mainly detect gunpowder used in bombs that could destroy an aircraft, but they also detect big guns or weapons with high metal density. The five bullets of the small gun might have contained too little gunpowder vapour, so the machines did not sound any alarm.

The retired police commissioner traveled to Japan as an advisor to Pathum Thani local government on a tour of waste-to-energy power generation facilities in Japan. Japanese prosecutors had sought to detain Pol Lt Gen Kamronwit for ten days as more evidence is collected and they consider an indictment.

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UPDATE #4

No trace of a gun in x-ray airport security check records 

AoT president Nitinai Sirismatthakarn said the CTX luggage scanners used at Suvarnabhumi are capable of detecting explosives, explosive compounds, bullets and even gunpowder residue.

Another AoT source, however, said the CTX scanner was only capable of detecting explosives and bombs, not guns that are normally picked out by trained security-check staff.
 
Meanwhile, the CEO of the company responsible for security checks on checked luggage belonging to passengers at Suvarnabhumi airport (Asia Security Management), insisted the gun did not get through the checks carried out by the firm.

A Government House source, meanwhile, said state security officials suspected the arrest of Pol Lt Gen Kamronwit was likely part of a plot to discredit Thailand's aviation safety image.

Transport Minister Prajin Juntong has insisted security checks at Suvarnabhumi airport did not find a gun and bullets in the luggage and carry-on bags of former Metropolitan Police chief Kamronwit Thoopkrachang on the day he left for Japan.

An investigation by the AoT showed no signs of a gun in Pol Lt Gen Kamronwit's luggage - neither the checked nor carry-on pieces - when he left for Japan.

Pol Lt Gen Kamronwit, himself, told Japanese authorities he unintentionally brought the gun to Japan with him from Thailand as he forgot the weapon was in his medicine box. The medicine box was in his checked luggage when he travelled to Japan but was moved to his carry-on bag when he was in Japan.

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UPDATE #3

Kamronwit still in Japanese jail

Former Bangkok police chief Kamronwit Thoopkrachang remains in Japanese police custody pending a local prosecutors' decision on whether to indict him for possession of a gun, a process that may take 20 days. If public prosecutors indict him, his release on bail will be requested. If he is convicted, he would be detained in Japan for a certain period before a request for his transfer to a Thai jail could be submitted.

Pol Lt Gen Kamronwit, 60, had joined a delegation of local government officials (sub-district administrators) from Pathum Thani province on a tour to inspect waste-to-energy facilities in Japan. At Suvarnabhumi airport, he used a VIP channel of Thai Airways Internationa and x-ray screening at the airport had not spotted a gun in his luggage. He had also not requested permission to take a gun out of the country.

After the gun was discovered, he had confessed to owning the pistol and forgetting he had left it in his medicine pouch. He had had the pouch loaded into the cargo compartment of his plane to Japan, but for the return trip he kept the pouch in a bag he was carrying. He was reportedly arrested with the pistol and five bullets.

The pistol was legally registered and was very small, slightly bigger than a Mercedes Benz automobile key. Because the gun was so small, security personnel may not have recognised it during x-ray screening.

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UPDATE #2

Prime Minister's statement on airport security

Suvarnabhumi airport's security procedures should be examined to find out whether former metropolitan police chief Kamronwit Thoopkrachang was allowed to leave the country with an unchecked gun, Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha said on Wednesday. "Was there any exception?  Did he go through the X-ray machine for scanning?  If something went wrong, it was wrong," he said.

The prime minister said everybody should bear in mind that the law is the law.  "Thai people should be taught to respect the law, not only of their own country but also of other countries. One may be able to do anything he wants to in Thailand, but not in other countries. When some people are in trouble abroad, it is the government they look to for help. The government has to help, otherwise it would be blamed for not taking care of its own people," Gen Prayut said. Asked about assistance for Pol Lt Gen Kamronwit, Gen Prayut said he would be provided with lawyers.  "He is no longer an official, but an ordinary person. No matter what, he will be taken care of," he added.

(Read an article on "Almost no one in Japan owns a gun" here).

Gen Prayut made this remark when asked whether the Kamronwit incident would affect Thailand's efforts to convince the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) its airport safety standards were adequate. He said Pol Lt Gen Kamronwit's case was a personal offence and had nothing to do with the ICAO.

The Airports of Thailand (AoT) said taking a gun on board a plane is allowed for domestic flights, but prohibited for international flights, except with a permit for it to be loaded as a package. A person is allowed to carry a weapon on board a plane only if on duty to provide security for a very important person.

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UPDATE #1

Kamronwit's possible indictment on gun possession at Tokyo's Narita airport

The Japanese police say prosecutors would decide today (Wednesday afternoon) whether or not to indict Pol Lt Gen Kamronwit Thoopkrachang, who was detained at Narita International Airport in Japan on Monday for having a gun and ammunition in his possession.

If spared from indictment, the former Bangkok police chief would be able to return to Thailand right away.  If he was indicted, the Thai embassy in Japan would provide him with lawyers.

The Royal Thai Police Office has tried to coordinate with the Japanese police in arranging assistance,  but could not do anything much because the case must proceed according to Japanese law. The offence carried a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison in Japan.  In Malaysia or Singapore, the penalty could be as high as death.

The Thai embassy in Tokyo had sent staff to act as interpreters and would find a lawyer for Pol Lt Gen Kamronwit. The embassy said it would do all it could to ensure justice for Pol Lt Gen Kamronwit.

An initial investigation found that Pol Lt Gen Kamronwit had gone through all security procedures at Suvarnabhumi airport and he was not found to be carrying a gun or have a gun in his suitcase.

Read full story here

AIR SAFETY & LAW ENFORCEMENT

Ex-Bangkok police chief caught with gun at Narita airport

AoT probing how ex-officer got gun on board
23/06/2015
Online and Bangkok Post reporters

Pol Lt Gen Kamronwit Thoopkrachang, a former Metropolitan Police chief, has been detained by Japanese authorities at Tokyo's Narita International Airport for having a gun and ammunition in his possession.

The arrest was confirmed Tuesday by police spokesman Pol Lt Gen Prawut Thawornsiri.

Pol Lt Gen Prawut said police in Thailand were examining reports about Pol Lt Gen Kamronwit's arrest to find out why he had the gun with him, whether the weapon had gone through security procedures in Thailand and how.

Police would then contact him to see if he needed help.

Initial reports said Pol Lt Gen Kamronwit went to Japan on June 18 on Thai Airways Flight TG 640 which left Suvarnabhumi airport at 9.50pm.

He was found with a gun in his possession at Narita airport as he was about to board a 5pm flight to return to Thailand on Monday.

The type of gun was not reported, nor how it was found. 

Pol Lt Gen Kamronwit admitted to owning the gun and showed his identity card and documents for the weapon.

Airports of Thailand Plc deputy director Kanputt Mungklusiri said officials have examined footage from a CCTV camera at a gate at Suvarnabhumi which the former city police chief passed through.

The weapon seemed not to be detected by screening procedures, he added. However, Pol Lt Gen Kamronwit might have used a VIP gate at the airport where security screening is not required, a source said. 

EARLIER REPORT

Pol Lt Gen Kamronwit Thoopkrachang, a former metropolitan police chief, has been detained by Japanese authorities at Tokyo's Narita International Airport for having a gun and ammunition in his possession, police spokesman Pol Lt Gen Prawut Thawornsiri confirmed on Tuesday.

Pol Lt Gen Prawut said police were examining reports about Pol Lt Gen Kamronwit's arrest to find out why he had the gun with him, whether or not the weapon had gone through security procedures in Thailand and how.

"We are checking how the gun slipped through our process,'' said Gp Capt Kanputt Mungklusiri, senior executive vice president in charge of airport and aviation standards at AoT.

The airport only allows firearms to be carried by security guards to protect royal family members, he added.

A source at Suvarnabhumi said Pol Lt Gen Kamronwit could leave Thailand through a VIP process that spared him any body or luggage checks.

Initial reports said Pol Lt Gen Kamronwit went to Japan on June 18 on Thai Airways Flight TG 640 which departed Suvarnabhumi airport at 9.50pm.

He was found with the gun in his possession at Narita airport as he was about to board a 5pm flight to return to Thailand on June 22. The type of the gun was not reported, or how it was found.

Pol Lt Gen Kamronwit admitted to owning the gun and showed his identification card and documents for the weapon to Japanese authorities.

Thai embassy officials had contacted Japanese officials to provide legal assistance in the case, Pol Lt Gen Prawut said.

Police also planned to contact the former Bangkok metropolitan police bureau chief to see what could be done to help him, he said.

http://www.bangkokpost.com/news/general/601232/ex-bangkok-police-chief-caught-with-gun-at-narita-airport

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