Metropolitan police arrested 25 youths, most of them students, and seized a large cache of weapons, including 11 home-made pistols, 8 pen guns, ammunition and 35 knives, in raids on nine locations in Bangkok between January 20th and 26th.
Pol Col Sitthichai Srisophacharoenrat, deputy commander of the 4th division of the Metropolitan Police Bureau, said today that the raids were part of a pre-emptive crackdown to prevent street violence between rival groups of students.
He said that student violence has steadily reduced in the past few years, after police began reaching out to the schools and parents of some students, asking them to restrain the students from getting involved in violence.
He admitted, however, that this approach might not work with those who have been brainwashed or indoctrinated by their seniors with the distorted value that they must protect the honour of their institutions, even if that means physically fighting their perceived rivals.
