Criminals Exploit Dry River At Border To Smuggle Illegal Guns Bought On Thai Online Sites
Police are tightening control at Sungai Golok as the river has receded due to the hot weather since last month.
By Yap Wan Xiang — 17 Apr 2024, 02:20 PM
Thai black market sites that sell illegal firearms, coupled with the drying up of Sungai Golok, which forms the border between Malaysia and Thailand in Kelantan, are making it easier for criminals to possess firearms
According to the New Straits Times, criminals previously had to rely on an extensive network of contacts to secure illegal firearms from Thailand and smuggle them over across the borders.
Now, they can easily purchase illegal firearms with just a few clicks and walk across the shallow river within a minute without being detected by patrols to collect the guns.
Kelantan police chief Datuk Muhamad Zaki Harun said they are aware of the existence of encrypted websites that illegally sell firearms.
Sungai Golok police chief Colonel Jadsadavit Inprapan added that these guns could cost between RM2,000 and RM8,000 each.
The most popular options include revolvers, Glock, and Sig Sauer handguns.
He said Malaysian criminals would either order these illegal weapons online themselves or get their Thai contacts to purchase the guns on their behalf.
"These guns, usually from Bangkok, would be brought to Thai border towns for buyers to pick up," he said.
With the water level receding at the border-sharing river in the past month, it has become increasingly easier for the Sungai Golok town on the Thai side to become a "meeting point" for these transactions.
A file image of a General Operations Force officer on duty along Sungai Golok.
Image via Nik Abdullah Nik Omar/New Straits Times
Although the illegal guns cost less than RM10,000 in the Thai black market, Jadsadavit said prices tend to double when they are resold in Malaysia
He added that his department has been seizing one illegal firearm a week at the border town.
The most recent case involved two Malaysians from Kelantan and Kuala Lumpur, who were arrested in a pub last month for possessing two illegal guns, a jailable offence under the Arms Act.
Gun-related crimes in Malaysia have been increasingly making headlines in recent months, sparking concerns and scrutiny surrounding gun possession.
In March, a man suspected of being an Israeli agent was arrested at a hotel in Kuala Lumpur, where he was found with six handguns. The suspect allegedly obtained the guns from a local couple who had purchased them from Thailand.
Similarly, on Sunday, 14 April, another incident unfolded at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport, where a man attempted to shoot his wife with an illegal firearm but inadvertently hit her bodyguard instead.
The suspect is believed to have obtained the gun from a neighbouring country.
The New Straits Times reported that the General Operations Force has been instructed to increase its efforts to curb the smuggling of illegal firearms into the country.
