Thai police have seized more than 145 guns, thousands of gun parts, machine tools for making guns and ammunition in recent nation-wide raids.

Pol Gen Damrongsak Kittipraphat, the newly-appointed national police chief, told a news conference today (Saturday) that the raids in 50 provinces were part of a ghost gun operation, being carried out by police from the Central Investigation Bureau.

The guns seized include 70 licensed, over 70 unlicensed guns and four “weapons of war”. The remaining items include about 8,900 rounds of ammunition, gun parts and machine tools for producing illegal arms.

61 suspects were taken into police custody, including 8 against whom arrest warrants had been issued.

Pol Gen Damrongsak also warned gun enthusiasts to refrain from buying guns or gun parts through online platforms, saying that the practice is illegal and the buyers may face charges for possessing illegal firearms.