Police said Monday they have arrested more than 20,000 people on suspicion of involvement in various crimes nationwide, as authorities go to extra lengths to ensure the public is safe during the Songkran festivities.
The 20,172 suspects have been detained following a series of police operations, launched between April 1 and April 10, ahead of the Songkran festival, as instructed by police chief Chakthip Chaijinda, said deputy police chief Pol Gen Winai Thongsong.
The detained suspects were wanted on a total of 42,915 previously issued arrest warrants, he said, adding most cases were related to theft, embezzlement and fraud.
Of the detained suspects, the largest number of them (13,848) were caught in areas under the Metropolitan Police Bureau's precincts in the capital, said Pol Gen Winai.
"The arrests will help prevent these criminals from repeating their crimes, including ones involving the illicit drug trade, during the festival," he said.
Some suspects and vehicles thought to be linked to crimes were seized in the southern border provinces, he said.
This should help alleviate the violent situation in the deep South, according to Pol Gen Winai.
He encouraged members of the public to report any information they may have on criminal cases to the authorities, he said.
Meanwhile, the Crime Suppression Division (CSD) led 50 police in searching trains and passengers at Chiang Mai railway station after a police probe led investigators to believe that drugs may be being trafficked from the northern province to Bangkok ahead of the Songkran festival.
Pol Lt Col Torsak Sukwimol, a CSD superintendent, said the search was part of an expanded investigation following the recent bust of a Malaysian drug trafficking ring from which police seized 226kg of crystal methamphetamines, or ice, and 8kg of heroin worth about 300 million baht.
Police were tipped off that the drugs network might try and transport drugs from the North to Bangkok and then to the southern border, where they would be then smuggled across to Malaysia.
A police source said the investigation found a group of ethnic minority Shan in Myanmar are the gang's supplier of drugs to be smuggled to Malaysia.
However, Monday's search didn't bear any fruit.
In another development, the Provincial Police Region 1 revealed it had rounded up more than 245 suspected drug traffickers during this period of intensive crackdowns.
Along with the suspects' arrests, about a hundred firearms, 296 bullets and various drugs were also seized, said Pol Lt Gen Chaiwat Ketworachai, commissioner of the regional police division.
The confiscated guns are being examined to see if any of them have been used in known criminal cases, said Pol Lt Gen Chaiwat.
Police have also seized assets worth about 10 million baht as a result of their raids and arrests, he said.
More stringent measures are being enforced at security checkpoints across the region to deter drug trafficking during the festival, he said.
About 90,000 police officers will be deployed around the country this week to manage road traffic and ensure public safety.