February 9, 2005

Police tracking group of Muslim car buyers

 SUPAPONG CHAOLAEN

Surat Thani _ An order has been issued for provincial police to

identify and track a group of Muslim men from Yala who bought five

vehicles at an auction in the province, on the suspicion they could use

them for illegal activities in the deep South.

Pol Lt-Gen Somsak Bupphasuwan, chief of Regional Police Bureau 8

overseeing the upper South, said the men bought the vehicles on auction

at the Bank for Agriculture and Agricultural Cooperatives branches of

Ban Nasan, Wiang Sa and Khirirat Nikhom district a few days ago.

He said the men won the bids with much higher offers than normal, paid

for the vehicles in cash and hurriedly took them away without waiting to

receive car registration and other documents. They bought a car, two

vans and two pick-ups.

Pol Lt-Gen Somsak said he had ordered police to identify them and

monitor their activities in coordination with Regional Police Bureau 9

which oversees the southernmost provinces.