Thai police do drills in advance of the APEC meeting

The Special Operation Division’s office in Nonthaburi Province, close to Bangkok, hosted the five-day training beginning on September 16. To take part in a role-playing shooting exercise, officers proceeded from the Nonthaburi office to the Crystal Ekkamai-Ramdra shopping complex on Pradit Manutham Road in Bangkok’s Bang Kruai district. The Royal Thai Police’s Commissioner General, Suwat Jangyodsuk, told the press that the training exercise went very well. He asserts that the exercise helped officers acquire experience working in a real setting with lots of people, like as a mall, and that it also increased public awareness of the value of knowing how to defend oneself in an emergency. Together, the police departments managed the situation until the hostage was released and the gunmen were captured.

During the imaginary incident, officers worked on several techniques like the use of drones, mobile command and control operations centers, evacuation, sniper shooting, car investigation, explosive inspection and disposal, and more. Bangkok Police personnel took part in a five-day training exercise in advance of the next Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) meeting on November 18 and 19. The intention of the drill was to prepare police for any potential emergencies that might occur during the APEC conference. The training exercise was modeled after a real shooting that occurred in the Terminal 21 mall in the Isaan city of Nakhon Ratchasima, or Korat, three years ago. The shooter then kidnapped and held captive an unarmed shopper. Among the officers who took part in the assignment were members of the Arintaraj 26 Special Weapons and Tactics Unit, the Special Operation Unit Naresuan 261, the Commando Unit from the Special Service Division, the Hanuman Unit from the Crime Suppression Division, the Sayobpairee 43 from the Narcotics Suppression Bureau, training officials, and mall security guards. It started out with the implication that three shooters had escaped capture and were hidden in the mall. Suwat added that the training exercise would provide tourists from each country with a sense of security and demonstrate to them how well-equipped the Thai police are for any eventuality.