BLUE LANTERN POST-SHIPMENT END USE CHECK ON

UNCLAS BANGKOK 000672 SIPDIS PM/DTCC - BLUE LANTERN COORDINATOR E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: ETTC KOMC TH SUBJECT: BLUE LANTERN POST-SHIPMENT END USE CHECK ON LICENSE 050089992 REF: STATE 3393 ¶1. (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 1999-2007. 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 P. Wang Burapa (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 reftel, ¶3. (U) POL FSN January 27 visited the PWB shop. The shop was a concrete, three and a half story shop house in busy business area of Bangkok. Amporn Kohphet confirmed the purchase and import of 200 pistols as described reftel. ¶4. (U) Amporn presented the following documents: - Two permits: one for possession of weapons and the other for sale of weapons, both No. 200/2551, issued by the Department of Provincial Administration-Ministry of Interior, beginning November 1, 2008, to expire October 31, 2009. - P. Wang Burapa's purchase order to Kimber, No. 6/2551-P.WANG, dated February 2, 2008, with details of pistols in accordance with reftel. This document did not have the signature of the Pussadee Kohphet, the managing partner. A staff at PWB said she signed the original and sent to Kimber. - A permit for import of one hundred .45 pistols, under the name of Pol. Lt. Gen. Rachot Yensuang, Commissioner of Police Region 1, who has assigned PWB to import the weapons via No. 13 13/2550 (not 2551 as stated reftel),beginning December 25, 2007, expiring December 24, 2008, issued by Department of Provincial Administration-Ministry of Interior. A permit for import of one hundred .45 pistols, under the name of Pol. Lt. Gen. Bunchop Khongnai, Commissioner of Police Region 4, who assigned PWB to import via No. 1/2551, beginning January 2, 2008, expiring January 1, 2009, issued by Department of Provincial Administration-Ministry of Interior. Amporn said both lots of pistols (two hundred pieces) had arrived at Suvarnabhumi International Airport July 2, 2008 and were released to PWB the same day. The pistols were imported to sell to the Welfare Project of the Royal Thai Police. The serial numbers of all two hundred pistols were listed. - An invoice No. 442589, issued by Kimber and dated April 30, 2008, Ref. No. 519258065, for PWB Purchase Order No. 6/2551-P.WANG. The invoice describes the details of two hundred pistols and two hundred magazines sold to PWB. A set of fifty magazines (Part ID 1000089) was not stated reftel. - PWB could not provide me copies of DSP-83s and stated that the DSP-83s had been sent to Kimber and no copies had been made. Amporn stated all pistols had been delivered to the respective police officers in 2008 but that PWB did not know the names of the final users. ¶5. (U) The shop had five staff and a CCTV system, but there were no smoke detection or water-sprinkler systems. The front and back gates were the iron gates. The shop claimed to have two night guards. The upper floors are the living quarters for someone stay. The shop had three old iron safes with double locks. ¶6. (U) POL FSN January 27 visited the Royal Thai Police Welfare Division and met Deputy Superintendent Pol. Lt. Col. Sunisa and Inspector Pol. Maj. Panchanat. They said that PWB had obtained a special gun quota directly from the former Interior Minister Khongsak Wanthana with the assistance of former Police Commissioner-General Pol. Gen. Seriphisut Temiyawet and former Assistant Police Commissioner-General Police General Achirawit Suwanphesat. The full quota was for 14,948 pistols to be sold to police officers under the "Weapon Procurement Project for the Welfare of Police Officers". The reftel two hundred pistols was probably a portion of the quota. However, the purchase, import, sale, and delivery of these guns did not involve the Police Welfare Division. The sale would have been conducted directly to police officers. The Police Welfare Division had provided PWB the original list of potential police buyers and had been suspicious as some buyers are listed by first name only, some by last name only, and some did not have police ranks. ¶7. (U) POL FSN visited Police Region 1 HQ in Bangkok and Police Region 4 HQ in Khon Kaen. Pol. Lt. Col. Siriphon, Inspector of Welfare Section of Police Region 1, and Pol. Lt. Col. Nuanchan, Inspector of Welfare Section of Police Region 4, said that their offices were not aware of the sale of these guns. The sale was a direct sale between PWB and the police officers via approval of the police commissioners. ¶8. (U) POL FSN February 13 visited the IT section of Bureau of Registration Administration that supervises gun possession records. In a random sample of sixty numbers to verify owners only two names were found. The owners of these pistols, KU59538 and KU64200, were policemen. A further check of the remaining 140 numbers showed nine results. Seven belonged to policemen and the other two appeared to be owned by civilians. The IT section stated that records not found were likely the result of the pistols not being delivered or that the pistols had been delivered but the records had not yet been put into the computer system. For records that indicated the owner to be a civilian, the section said the owner could be a civilian or it they could be that police officers did not indicate their police ranks when registering the gun. JOHN