PRAN BURI, Thailand, March 4 (UPI) -- A huge cache of weapons was stolen from an arsenal in southern Thailand, the army said Friday.
Capt. Apiwat Saengsoong, a commander of the 1st Infantry Battalion, reported the theft in Pran Buri in Prachuap Khiri Khan province Thursday night, the Bangkok Post reported.
Missing were 117 M16 rifles, 10 11mm handguns, 10 rocket propelled grenade launchers, five M79 grenade launchers, four M60 machine guns, one 60mm mortar, four Minimi light machine guns and many kinds of ammunition, the officer said.
Military police found some of the arms at the house of a sergeant major, but he had fled. They later found more of the stolen weapons had been returned.
A military source told the Post the sergeant major was known to be involved in the illegal arms trade. Several groups could be the customers, including Karen rebels in Myanmar, Thai "red-shirt" dissidents or southern Thai insurgents.
A former commander of the battalion, Lt. Col. Supachai Yokanit, also is being investigated, the source said.
