Australian, 41 Arrested With Handgun at Airport in Koh Samui, Thailand

A 41 year old Australian man has been arrested at Koh Samui airport in Surat Thani Thailand after airport security found a hangun and 96 rounds in his luggage. The Australian told police he bought the firearm for self-defense from a Thai national on Koh Samui.

Mr. Mark Bassal, was arrested at the island’s Koh Samui airport around 1pm on Wednesday, according to Surat Thani immigration police.

An X-ray revealed parts of a disassembled gun-like object in some of the seven bags he and his family were carrying.

Mr. Bassal was detained by immigration officers and local police and charged with illegal possession of firearm parts and ammunition. They took the handgun and 96 cartridges.

The Australian allegedly stated during questioning that he purchased the pistol and ammunition from a Thai man at a shop in tambon Bophut on Koh Samui. He explained that it was for self-defense while traveling. He was taken to the Koh Samui police station for further investigation.

According to police the man, who was traveling with his wife and three children were booked on a Thai Airways International flight from Koh Samui to Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi International Airport. According to Mr. Bassal, he and his family may have planned to travel to Singapore and then to Australia, but they had not yet purchased plane tickets to those destinations.

Police investigators had found no evidence that the suspect would use the weapon to commit a crime, nor that he was a criminal or a member of the transnational syndicate.

Koh Samui Immigration Arrest Visa Overstays

Surat Thani immigration officers arrested the man, 43-year-old Norwegian man Mr. Jan Banan Thalmann, on Saturday at a house in Koh Samui district’s Mae Nam sub-district.

Thalmann was found to have overstayed his visa by 15 days, according to police. According to The Phuket Express, his reasons for overstaying were unclear. He was taken to the Koh Samui Police Station and charged with overstaying.

On December 8, Immigration Police in Koh Samui apprehended a Polish man wanted on an Interpol red notice for assault and illegal possession of firearms.

He had overstayed his student visa by 36 days, and it had been cancelled by immigration on November 3 due to his failure to attend classes.

Woman Breaks Nearly Every Bone in Her Face in Koh Samui Thailand

Woman Breaks Nearly Every Bone in Her Face in Koh Samui Thailand