The Thai police have displayed the tactical capacity of its special weapons and tactics unit, the Arintharat special force, in a simulated hostage rescue scenario.
The scenario demonstrated “tactical maneuvers” by female police officers on motorcycles and the riot polices’ crowd control capacity, in the midst of an angry mob that has blocked off traffic and taken a pickup truck driver hostage. The Arintharat special force then moved in to rescue the hostage and apprehend the instigators of the chaos. However, officials found that booby trap explosives have been laid to hinder their actions. Explosives Ordinance Disposal teams were called in to secure the area, using sniffer canines to detect the bombs, which then had their circuits severed by water pressure guns used by EOD officials in bomb suits.
Thai officials hoped to use the demonstration, which was observed by police officials from the Asia-Pacific region who were formerly trained by the United States’ Federal Bureau of Investigation, to showcase the capability of the Thai police to tackle situations under internationally-practiced standards.
