Deputy national police chief Pol Gen Surachate Hakparn believes that the raid on his house this morning (Monday) was motivated by conflicts inside the Royal Thai Police.

He claimed that the warrant used to search his house was not legitimate. Surachate, who is a strong contender for the top police post, said he has already assigned his legal team to look into the legitimacy of the search warrant.

“I believe that those who applied to the court for the warrant deceived the court,” Surachate said. The search warrant police used to raid his house mentioned only the number of the house, not the name of the owner.

This means that, when police applied for the warrant, it did not identify him as the owner of the house. “It is widely known that the house is mine and that I usually stay there. So, that’s why I say the court was deceived,” he said.

Police who raided my house claimed that they did not know that he was the owner of the house, Surachate said, but the raid was led by the cybercrime police chief.

The search found nothing illegal, so he said he will assign his legal team to take action against police.He claimed that the raid was the result internal conflicts in the police force, as he has been responsible for many big cases that could affect many groups of people.

C ommenting on police facing arrest warrants for allegedly being involved in online gambling, Surachate admitted that they are his subordinates. “If they are really involved in online gambling, they have to confess and be punished, as everybody is subject to the same laws,” Surachate said.