BLUE LANTERN PRE-LICENSE END USE CHECK ON LICENSES

UNCLAS BANGKOK 001823 SIPDIS FOR PM/DTCC - BLUE LANTERN COORDINATOR E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: ETTC KOMC TH SUBJECT: BLUE LANTERN PRE-LICENSE END USE CHECK ON LICENSES 050168987 AND 050175150 REF: A. STATE 62677 ¶B. BANGKOK 672 ¶1. (U) P. Wang Burapa Firearms Limited Partnership (PWB) was subject to ref B Blue Lantern investigation in January 2009. The firm's details and facility remain the same. The shop has obtained a special gun quota from Police for items for resale to police officers nationwide under a "Weapon Procurement Project for the Welfare of Police Officers". PWB is now in the process importing the items. ¶2. (U) According to the Thai Ministry of Commerce, P. Wang Burapa Firearms, Ltd. was listed. Registration No. 0103511019183 Registered Date: December 11, 1968 Status: Limited Partnership Capital Registration: 210,000 baht Partners: Amporn Kohphet with an investment of 170,000 baht, Phatcharavalai Muenphakdi with an investment of 10,000 baht, Amnart Tanthongyin with an investment of 10,000 baht, and Pussadee Kohphet with an investment of 20,000 baht. The managing partner is Pussadee Kohphet. Company Location: 15 Burapa Rd., Wang Burapa Phirom Sub-District, Phra Nakhon District, Bangkok The company has submitted annual financial reports for 1999-2008. Purpose of Company: To import and sell guns and ammunition. ¶2. (U) The company was listed in the telephone directory as 02-222-6949, as stated reftel. Another number, 02-222-2353, belongs to Prapa Firearms Ltd under the same address as PWB. PWB told POL FSN that the latter number originally belonged to the PWB owner who at that time owned the gun shop named Prapa. The owner later sold Prapa, but has kept the phone number and has moved it to the PWB without changing the name of subscriber. The business address was confirmed as stated ref A. ¶3. (U) We visited PWB July 10 and met with Amporn and Sirisak Hiranpradit, in charge of foreign relations. They presented official documents to confirm the legitimacy and accuracy of the transaction and the import of firearms by their shop. The reftel lot of guns is for police officers in Police Region 6 (nine provinces in the lower northern region of Thailand). However, by the time of delivery, some of the police buyers may have rotated to other regions. ¶4. (U) For distribution of the firearms, after arrival in Bangkok the items will be transported to Department of Provincial Administration for registration. Then they will be transported to each provincial police office in Region 6 to deliver to the buyers, who have already ordered and paid, or partly paid, for the guns. The delivery will be acknowledged and witnessed by the provincial police commander or other high-ranking police officers in the province. Photos and a video will be taken of the transaction. The guns will be transported by a van with a driver, four PWB representatives, and two policemen from the destination province. Upon delivery of the guns to police buyers, the shop's responsibility ends at that point. ¶5. (U) The entity that maintains records of guns is the district office at each locality. The district chief acts as local gun registrar, who records the change of possession of all guns. The district chief is a civil servant under Department of Provincial Administration (DPA) in the Ministry of Interior. It is the personal responsibility of each gun owner to protect the gun since it is not a government-issued item. The Welfare Project dictates that guns cannot be resold or transferred to a non-government official within five years of delivery. ¶6. (U) We inquired about the names of two non-police who appeared in the DPA's electronic gun registration system as owners of the guns purchased under the Police Welfare Project as detected ref B. PWB's Sirisak provided copies of DPA's documents that showed Itthiphon Chommuang as a police officer. The other name was Pricha Jaiphet who was a district chief in Sukhothai Province. Pricha had bought the pistol from Pol. Sen. Sgt. Maj. Thawin Thipaeng, the original gun owner. ¶7. (U) Sirisak asked us to convey to the State Department that a permit for import is valid for one year from the date of issue. However, if a purchase order is placed with a foreign manufacturer within that year the permit is valid until delivery of the items even if that date is more than one year. ¶8. (U) The foreign consignee was Fixtech Co., Ltd. The company is the representatives and distributor for Smith & Wesson in Thailand. The firm was listed in Ministry of Commerce as follows: Registration No.: 0105538141429 Registration Date: November 28, 1995 Status: Company Limited Company Executives: Dissatat Dejthamrong, Thanisorn Dejthamrong, Surapee Dejthamrong, and Aphinya Wongwiwatchai. Capital Registration: 10,000,000 Baht Location: 142 Pacific Place 2, Sukhumvit Road, Khlong Toei, Bangkok This Company has submitted its annual financial reports of 1999- 2008 Purpose: To sell firearms and defense equipment ¶9. (U) We visited Fixtech July 10 and met Mr. Dissatat. His company took PWB's purchase order for 1,000 pieces of .38 and .357 revolvers, but not 800 pieces of .45 pistols from Kimber. Dissatat confirmed of the PWB's purchase and legitimacy, and presented the permit issued by the DPA, the End User Certificates, and DSP-83. ¶10. (U) We July 10 visited the Firearms Registration Section of the DPA and Section Chief Prawet who confirmed PWB's explanation that the local district office is the entity responsible for the gun movement and record, and that each individual gun owner is responsible for gun security. Prawet also confirmed that this lot of firearms is for police officers in Region 6. He also affirmed Sirisak's explanation regarding the validity of Import Permits if the order is placed within the effective timeframe. ¶11. (U) Permits for Import/Order of Firearms presented by PWB, Fixtech, the Firearms Registration Section, and reftel were all consistent. The total firearms to be imported in this lot are 1,800 pieces. ¶12. (U) POL FSN July 21 and 22 called Police Region 6 and spoke to Pol. Lt. Col. Sansani, Inspector of Welfare Section, Pol. Lt. Col. Chakkraphong, Inspector of Weapon Section, and the Front Office of the Police Region 6 Commissioner. Police Region 6 oversees the lower northern region provinces of Kamphaengphet, Tak, Nakhon Sawan, Phichit, Phitsanulok, Phetchabun, Sukhothai, Uttaradit, and Uthaithani. The region has 14,323 police officers, of whom 2,059 are commissioned officers. There are some 4,700 government-issued pistols/revolvers in Police Region 6. ¶13. (U) Inspector Sansani and Inspector Chakkraphong said their Sections were not involved with this project. It is a transaction between PWB and the police buyers. As examined by Inspector Sansini and the Police Region 6 Front Office staff, the Commissioner's signatures on the End User Certificate and DSP-83s are genuine. Police Inspector General Rachata Yensuang confirmed the authentication of all documents. Rachata, Sansani, and Chakkraphong all stated that most of police personnel, particularly those in crime suppression and investigation, want to buy their own pistols since government-issued weapons were inadequate or outdated. JOHN