BLUE LANTERN LEVEL 3: POST-SHIPMENT END-USE CHECK

UNCLAS BANGKOK 001984 SIPDIS SIPDIS PM/DTCC -- BLUE LANTERN COORDINATOR MICHAEL ROMERO E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: KOMC ETTC TH SUBJECT: BLUE LANTERN LEVEL 3: POST-SHIPMENT END-USE CHECK ON LICENSE 05-050020225 REF: SECSTATE 32031 ¶1. Post was unable to determine whether foreign end-user Kangwan Arms is complying with terms of the USML and seeks guidance on next steps. Details below. ¶2. According to the business profile maintained by the Ministry of Commerce's Department of Business Development, Kangwan Arms is registered as follows: Registration No. 0203515000052 Registered Date: 21 January 1971 Status" Still listed as a limited partnership Capital Registration: 1,500,000 baht Business Partners: Ms. Sunee Pankaew, Ms. Benjamas Sitthiphongworakun, Ms. Lakkhana Sitthiphongworakun Manager listed as Ms. Sunee Pankaew Location: 449/18 Moo 12, Thep Prasit Rd., Tambon Nong Prue, Amphoe Bang Lamung, Chonburi The original name of the enterprise was "Saha Pornchai Arms Ltd., Part." The name was changed to "Kangwan Arms Ltd., Part." on January 16, 1979. The business submitted financial reports in 1999-2005. According to the telephone directory, Kangwan Arms has a phone number of 038-300-938. Repeated calls to that number were unanswered. ¶3. Pol FSN visited the shop on Wednesday, March 28 and on Saturday, March 31. The shop was closed both times. During the March 28 visit, FSN noted a hand-written sign reading "Open only on Saturday and Sundays." The shop is located in the bottom two floors of an eight-story concrete condominium building. FSN believes the shop does not contain a residence since the entrance to the shop was padlocked from the outside. The sign outside the shop appears newly painted. Pol FSN spoke with guards at the condominium and with managers of the building who said that the shop used to open and close at odd hours and had not been open for quite some time. Security guards indicated that the shop does not display firearms openly and that, in the past, when customers arrived, the store owner would bring guns downstairs for inspection. Employees at the property management office said that a "Mr. Sakda" last name unknown, paid the monthly property management fee regularly since ¶2001. Mr. Sakda also has the property managers pick up his mail. The management staff had not seen Mr. Sakda for "two or three months" and noted that the electricity in the shop had been disconnected. ¶4. On March 28, Pol FSN visited Ms. Natthima of the Chonburi Provincial Commerce office's Permit section. She said that Kangwan renews its license to possess and sell firearms regularly every year. Ms. Natthima was surprised to hear that Kangwan had imported the handguns listed in reftel. According to her records, Kangwan had filled its annual quota for imports in 2006 with other shipments. According to Natthima, the permits listed in paragraph two of reftel were issued by the Ministry of Interior's Department of Provincial Administration in Bangkok rather than by the provincial office. This also struck Ms. Natthima as irregular. Natthima was unwilling to show Pol FSN any records her office has on Kangwan absent an official request from her superiors. ¶5. Post seeks Department guidance on next steps. ARVIZU