<b>Police seize war weapons in Phuket, Thailand, said to be bound for Sri Lanka.</b>

Agency

04 July 2002, Bangkok A cache of weapons believed to be destined for rebel groups, either in Sri Lanka or Indonesia, was confiscated during a police raid, in the island of Phucket, located South of Thailand, yesterday.

A man identified as Prachumphol Ruangphueng, 30, a resident of Trang, was arrested.

He had driven a pickup truck to a fishing pier in Phuket's Muang district and was carrying a large bag towards a fishing boat. Other men pushed a large oil drum to the boat.

When police emerged, the men threw the bag and drum into the sea before dispersing. Prachumphol was the only one arrested.

The fishing boat that apparently was going to pick up the shipment disappeared out to sea.

With the help of divers, police managed to retrieve the bag and drum. Inside were a number of weapons, consisting of 596 AK-47 bullets, six rocket-propelled grenades, two M-67 hand grenades, and six flares, said Police Colonel Chaiwat Ketworachai, a superintendent at the Crime Suppression Division.

Police had Prachumphol under surveillance for some time before yesterday's raid, Chaiwat said.

The weapons were not made in Thailand, but their origin remains unknown.

One source said yesterday that they could have been destined for rebels in Indonesia or Sri Lanka.

Phuket Governor Phongphayom Wasasphithi told reporters the weapons probably were destined for Tamil rebels fighting for a separate homeland in northern Sri Lanka. He did not elaborate.

In Colombo, Sri Lankan Defence Ministry spokesman Brigadier Sanath Karunaratne said yesterday that, the government was aware of the seizure and had asked its embassy in Bangkok to find out "where the arms and ammunition were heading to".

The Sri Lankan government has previously accused the Tamil Tigers of smuggling weapons from Thai islands.