Deputy national police chief General Srivara Ransibhramanakul received them before they were interrogated and had their criminal records tabled.

A police source claimed that the suspects had confessed to having used weapons in the violent 2010 demonstrations and kept the rest in the home raided on the weekend.

The source also claimed that the suspects had confessed to having planned to use the weapons against opponents of Pathum Thani-based Wat Dhammakaya.

Red-shirt leader Wuttipong “Ko Tee” Kottham-makhun and his associates are accused of possessing military weapons and criminal association.

Police on the weekend announced the discovery of a large cache of weapons found in a building linked to Wuttipong in Pathum Thani.

The search was expanded to other areas around Bangkok including Samut Prakarn province.

Police will hand over the nine suspects to the Department of Special Investigation for further interrogation as the case also involves a violent demonstration in 2010 that the DSI probed.

Arrest warrants have been issues against four other suspects in the case including Wuttipong, who fled the country.