Thailand’s top stories: Pattaya killing case, Phuket arrests lead weekly roundup
Here is a look at the top NATIONAL Thailand stories, chosen by our Pattaya News/TPN National team, from last week, Monday, April 20th to Sunday April 26th. They are not in any particular level of importance but are…
A weekly roundup published April 27 highlighted major Thailand stories reported from April 20-26, led by a Pattaya police officer questioned in a cannabis shop owner’s killing and two high-profile arrests in Phuket. The list, compiled by the Pattaya News/TPN National team, also included a mass festival turnout, a crash that injured five people, a housing raid and a house-fire rescue.
Pattaya cases ranged from homicide probe to traffic crash
Police at Pattaya City Police Station took Pol. Lt. Col. Jirasak Srikatthanam, known as “Sergeant Joe,” for additional questioning on Monday morning, April 20. The 54-year-old investigation officer was identified as a member of the station’s investigation unit.
A related report said the officer, accused of murdering a cannabis shop owner on Walking Street while drunk, denied the charges and faced an initial court appearance.
Elsewhere in Pattaya, CCTV captured a white BMW reversing at high speed into pedestrians on Pattaya Second Road. Five foreigners were injured, including a two-year-old child.
Festival turnout, raid and arrests shaped the rest of the week
Pattaya City Mayor Poramese Ngampichet said the “Wan Lai Pattaya 2569” festival drew more than 100,000 people and generated an estimated economic boost of more than 1.5 billion baht during the end of the Songkran holiday period.
Provincial Police Region 2 also launched an operation targeting illegal activity in a residential area popular with expatriates. Police arrested nine foreigners, most of them Chinese, in the housing raid near Pattaya.
Another Pattaya report described officers rescuing an 89-year-old Russian woman from the third floor of a burning four-story townhouse as heavy smoke filled the building.
In Phuket, immigration police working with national law enforcement arrested a 33-year-old Indonesian man wanted by the FBI and Interpol over an alleged $10 million cryptocurrency romance scam.
Thai police also arrested two Kyrgyz nationals sought on Interpol red notices over a kidnapping and murder case in Kyrgyzstan. The suspects, identified as Mr. Aiat, 26, and Mr. Adilet, 26, were apprehended at a hotel in Patong, Kathu District, Phuket.
Source: https://thephuketexpress.com/2026/04/27/top-national-thailand-stories-from-the-past-week-pattaya-police-officer-allegedly-murdered-cannabis-shop-owner-and-more-2/
