Phuket –
A British man was arrested with a gun and bullets in Wichit after an argument with a man he called a “friend” in a Tuk Tuk taxi in Kamala.
The Kamala Police Chief Colonel Somsak Thongkleang told the Phuket Express that on Tuesday night (January 2rd) the Kamala Police and Royal Phuket Immigration arrested a man identified only as Mr. Bryant, 39, a British national.
Seized from him was a 9mm Sig Sauer handgun with 50 bullets. He was taken to the Kamala Police Station to face charges of possession of a firearm and ammunition without legal permission and carrying a gun in public without legal permission.
The arrest came after on New Year’s night (January 1st) the Kamala Police were notified from an unidentified Tuk Tuk taxi driver that a foreign passenger had a gun. The taxi was carrying two foreign passengers from Patong to Kamala. The two men began arguing in the Tuk Tuk taxi about an unspecified matter, which escalated, and Mr. Brant allegedly took out the gun and used the blunt end of it to hit the other’s face when they were in Soi Paradise 1, Kamala. Police found a bullet cartridge at the scene and police later positively identified the suspect.
Police found that Mr. Bryant moved from Kamala to Wichit where he was arrested after the incident. He told police that he was drunk and arguing with his friend who he met at Patong Beach. The name of the friend was not given to the media. Bryant dumped the gun and bullets near the Mueang Chao Fa Lagoon on the Chao Fa West Road in Wichit. Mr. Bryant claimed that he borrowed the gun from a Thai person at Patong Beach for self-protection, but the identity of this person was also not given to the media. It was also unclear why a “tourist” would need a gun for protection in Thailand.
Phuket Immigration told the Phuket Express that last year Mr. Bryant entered Thailand three times via the Suvarnabhumi Airport and stayed in Phuket. His Instagram posts appear to show off his luxury lifestyle with a personal airplane travelling to many countries.
His current visa is a three month tourist visa. However, officers are investigating what he was doing in Phuket and why he has to carry a gun if he is just a tourist. Immigration would not immediately comment on if Mr. Bryant would have his visa withdrawn and be blacklisted or deported following his legal cases, and only said they continued to investigate Mr. Bryant and any possible connections to illegal businesses or ventures.
