Car chases and guns are more likely to be found in a scene from the “Fast & Furious” movie franchise, but on this occasion it was Pattaya’s streets that set the backdrop for the action.
On the evening of September 4, police officers were notified that a car had failed to stop and subsequently sped away from a police inspection point in front of the Makro supermarket on Sukhumvit Road in South Pattaya. A chase followed that could have graced a Hollywood movie as the speeding white Honda City was tracked down and pursued, with gun shots being exchanged along the way.
Eventually the suspect vehicle, now riddled with bullet holes and suffering 2 flats came to a halt close to the Morlam northeastern cultural zone on Pattaya Third Road. Police arrested the driver, 35-year-old Issara Prajan at the scene, along with the vehicle’s passenger, 34-year-old Nipaporn Buakaew in front of crowds of surprised onlookers. A bag of the illegal drug ketamine was found in the car.
On retracing the route of the chase, police officers also found and collected numerous 39mm gun cartridges and a tissue box with crystal methamphetamine, or ice, contained inside.
Upon questioning, Prajan accepted that the ketamine belonged to him, but denied any knowledge of the drugs or expended gun cartridges found on the road. He gave his reasons for fleeing as being frightened by the presence of so many police officers at the checkpoint which caused him to panic.
Police detained Prajan and his partner in crime for further questioning.
