Thai authorities have captured the final suspect in the shooting of a member of parliament from Narathiwat province, ending a month-long manhunt that spanned the country’s border regions.
The arrest of Lieutenant Colonel Viroj, identified as the gunman in the attack on MP Kamolsak Liewama, was confirmed on April 22, 2026, after he was apprehended in Sangkhla Buri district, Kanchanaburi province, while attempting to flee across the frontier into Myanmar.
Officials said Viroj had been hiding in a remote area along the Thai-Myanmar border, where he had evaded capture since the March 20 shooting that left the MP’s driver and a police escort seriously injured.
The operation involved coordination between the Royal Thai Army’s Special Task Force Lad Ya, the 29th Infantry Regiment, and provincial security forces, who acted on intelligence from border intelligence units to locate and detain the suspect.
Viroj is now in custody in Bangkok, where he is undergoing interrogation as investigators continue to pursue leads on any possible accomplices or masterminds behind the attack.
Four other individuals linked to the shooting team have already been arrested, making Viroj the fifth and final suspect to be taken into custody in the case.
The incident has drawn national attention due to its targeting of an elected official and the apparent employ of military-trained personnel in the assault, raising concerns about armed group activity in Thailand’s deep south.
Authorities have emphasized that the arrest was made in strict accordance with legal procedures and that all evidence will be processed through the judicial system.
The case remains under active investigation as officials operate to determine the full scope of the plot and whether it was connected to broader insurgent or criminal networks operating in the region.
