Soldiers Seize Alleged Redshirt Weapon Cache From NE Temple

SARABURI — Military officers say they discovered a weapon cache belonging to an underground militant group affiliated with the Redshirt movement at a temple in northeastern Thailand.

Officers displayed the weapons to reporters at a press conference.
Maj.Gen. Adisorn Khorop, commander of a local army unit in Saraburi province, said soldiers discovered the cache during a raid on Seewalee Forest Monastery, located in Muaklek district.

The cache consisted of two shotguns, four BB guns, one handgun, one homemade "pen gun," one hand grenade, one rifle, and over a hundred bullets for the firearms, said Maj.Gen. Adisorn.

The military also confiscated two radio devices, one motorcycle without a license plate, and a number of flags and memorabilia of the Redshirt movement, which commands wide support in northeastern Thailand.

The temple's abbot, Phra Inta Sanyato, is now under arrest on charges of possessing firearms, ammunition, and radio equipment without proper permits. According Maj.Gen. Adisorn, the abbot denied having any knowledge of the weapons.

"The suspect contested the charges," said Maj.Gen. Adisorn. "He claimed that Redshirt groups have visited the temple for merit-making, and left behind these belongings when they departed from the temple."

Under martial law, which was imposed by the ruling junta last May, soldiers are authorized to conduct searches and arrests without a court warrant.