A total of 48 parcels with more than 48 kilograms of marijuana were seized.

The arrests were made on Monday after Thailand Post noticed irregularities in the parcels, checked them and found them to contain the illicit substance.

Metropolitan police commissioner Pol Lt-General Sanit Mahathavorn held a press conference at Makkasan police station on Tuesday to announce the arrest.

The suspects were identified as Watana Taothaisong, 24, Anon Puangjampi, 25, Saharat Jaichai, 20, and Ae (not his real name), 15.

Sanit said the suspects were arrested in front of 30 Post and Pay Services Co Ltd on Soi Ekkamai 30 in the capital’s Watthana district.

The company is a licensed post and parcel receiving firm for Thailand Post.

The private business was informed by Thailand Post on Monday that 13 parcels deposited for mailing under the fake sender’s name of Rungphet Yucharoen had been found to contain compressed bars of marijuana.

The company then alerted police and informed them that another 14 packages had not been shipped because the sender was yet to have paid the postal fees.

During a subsequent police stake-out, 30 Post and Pay Services called Ae asking him to come in and pay what was owed for the remaining parcels.

After Ae arrived at the company’s office, he phoned the three other suspects, who turned up in front of the firm at 9pm, whereupon police came out of hiding to arrest the four men.

Police then found another 21 parcels in the suspects’ car.

Sanit said police were still hunting for another member of the gang.

It is part of Provincial Police Region 4 training to reduce injuries to suspects and arresting police when attempting to subdue knife-wielding or agitated people, said Muang Maha Sarakham precinct superintendent Colonel Chairoj Nakharaj.

He said that once a week since last year, each precinct under Provincial Police Region 4 has had a team of four officers trained in how to use three Y-shaped and one hook-shaped stick to subdue suspects.

The hook stick is used to pull a suspect off their feet and the Y-shaped sticks are used to hold them down.

Chairoj said the method is used only when deemed appropriate.

The incident in the video, which went viral after its was posted on the precinct’s Facebook page, took place on Saturday after police were alerted to a drunken man wielding an object that looked like a long knife wrapped in a cloth at the Maha Sarakham Bus Station.

He was arrested for creating a public disturbance.

Continuous rain continued to fall in the North on Tuesday.

Officials at Chiang Mai’s Doi Suthep-Pui National Park are carrying out hourly inspections of the situation after large volumes of water gushed from its waterfalls, including Mae Sa, Tad Mok and Mok Fa, on Monday evening and the surrounds became muddy.

Although people were allowed to visit the waterfalls on Tuesday, they were advised not swim at the Tad Mok and Mok Fa falls.

Chiang Mai’s Wiang Haeng district reported a landslide on a road in tambon Muang Haeng on Tuesday but officials promptly cleared the road.

In Mae Ai district, there was flooding in two villages in tambon Ban Luang, where officials are assessing damages.

On Monday, Interior Minister General Anupong Paochinda instructed all district chiefs in several northern provinces to brace for heavy rain and possible floods and landslides.

But he said the rain had a silver lining – upstream dams received water.

Police objected to a bail release for the duo, arguing they are a flight risk.

It is alleged they cheated a 14-year-old disabled road accident victim out of Bt4 million in compensation.

Another alleged acconmplice in the case, Pornpaveen Chukaew, is currently in jail in a separate drug case in Chumphon province.

The two suspects looked stressed and exhausted in court on Tuesday. None of their relatives showed up at court.

Pisit, 59, was arrested with Pattharawadee Sawasdee, 39, on Sunday night at the parking lot of a condominium in Soi Ram-Indra 125 in Bangkok’s Min Buri district.

The Taling Chan provincial court had earlier issued arrest warrants for the duo and Pornpaveen for allegedly forging a document to cheat Pasit’s pro-bono client, Porntip Chantharat, 44, and her wheelchair-bound 14-year-old daughter, Pattarada “Beam” Kaewpong, out of the Bt4 million following the 2005 road accident.

Following a 4.30am report of the accident on Phitsanulok-Nakhon Sawan Road in tambon Tha Thong, police and rescue workers found that two people had been thrown from the Toyota van.

They were taken to hospital.

Rescuers took about 30 minutes to remove three other people from the van, before they were also sent to hospital. One of them died at the hospital.

Police said the van was ferrying Thai traditional musicians of Wat Phothiyan’s Jorakhe Thong band from an event in another province.

It is suspected that the van driver fell asleep.

Thaivisa has learnt that immigration officials at a number border checkpoints across Thailand are asking some people entering the country on a tourist visa to show Bt20,000 in cash.

Thaivisa understands the increased scrutiny being placed on tourist visa holders is to crack down on foreigners who officials suspect are not genuine tourists and who may be working in Thailand illegally.

People trying to enter with history of tourist visa entries appear to be the ones under the most amount of scrutiny. ED [education] visa holders are also the subject of similar scrutiny.

Since Thaivisa became aware of the increase in checks on tourist visa holders, reports have surfaced on social media of foreigners being refused entry for not having Bt20,000 in cash when entering Thailand.

One person even claimed that they could show proof of hotel bookings, details of an onward flight and bank statements showing funds, but was still refused entry.

Thaivisa has also received a report that immigration officials at Padang Besar on Friday were pulling tourist visa holders to one side and asking them to show Bt20,000 in cash. Those who could not show the cash were taken for questioning by officials.

Last week, a Thaivisa member was held in an immigration detention centre at Suvarnabhumi Airport, having been refused entry on the grounds that he could be working illegally.

During the same time, another Thaivisa member in possession of an ED visa was also being held at Suvarnabhumi after he was asked to show Bt20,000 in cash.

He was only able to show Bt8,000 in cash. The member said he previously had four tourist visas and a 30-day stamp on arrival.

A British national in Hua Hin who has three previous tourist visa entries in his passport told Thaivisa on Monday that he was also asked to show Bt20,000 in cash when trying to enter the country at Don Mueang International Airport last Wednesday and was questioned about whether he works in Thailand and how he can financially support his stay in the country.

Thaivisa has spoken to an immigration officer at a local immigration office who spoke to us on the condition of anonymity as they are not authorised to speak publicly on immigration matters.

The officer could only confirm that people entering Thailand on tourist visas should be able to show they can support their stay in the Kingdom.

Whenever anyone tries to enter Thailand it is at the discretion of the immigration officer.

If the immigration officer suspects that the individual may not be a genuine tourist or may be working in Thailand illegally or has some other doubts regarding their motives for entering Thailand, it is normal procedure to ask for more information from the individual.

Thaivisa has been unable to confirm whether the Bt20,000 in cash is a requirement nationwide or if only at the border checkpoints mentioned above.

He said after meeting SRT deputy governor Thanongsak Pongprasert that he would use this incident as a lesson and was ready to take responsibility for what he had done.

Meanwhile Pol Colonel Alongkorn Sirisongkram, of Prawes district police station, said that Bartling would be summonsed to meet police tomorrow as he was alleged to have broken railway rules in connection with his latest video clip.

The summons followed a complaint by State Railway station officials that he broke the Railway Act by entering SRT lands without permission and damaging the railway’s property.

Bartling and a friend were seen in a video clip posted on the Internet placing several coins on a railway track and letting a train to run over them.

He said in the clip that he wanted to test the strength of the coins to know which country’s coins were the strongest.

His video drew negative criticism, with many writing that he should find something useful to do. After receiving the complaint, Alongkorn and railway police visited an area about 1.5 kilometres from Tab Chang railway station on Chalermprakiat Road in Prawes district and found the location where Bartling conducted his experiment.

They found a Hong Kong coin on a side of the track and some damage to the tracks, making them believe that it was the location where Bartling had placed the coins.

Alongkorn said: “We have to take legal action on Bartling and his friend as we are worried of copycat acts by somebody.” It is believed that his rented house is not far from the site where the coin was found.

He reiterated that the public should know that putting something on the railway tracks could do harm to the trains.

Bartling said after the meeting with the deputy SRT governor, that to make amends he would produce a documentary about tourism in Thailand by using trains.

He lamented that he had done many good videos but was negatively criticised for only two mistakes.

He was sad that a large number of people have sought his deportation from Thailand as he had no proper visa. He said he had a work permit to work in Thailand.

Immigration police at the press briefing examined his immigration document and found it to be legitimate.

He said also that he was now afraid to leave his home, fearing for his safety as many people did not like his video clips.

In another controversial video posted before the coin experiment, he organised, recorded and posted a fight between his own cat and a scorpion.

Many cat lovers sought police action against him, alleging animal cruelty. More than 120,000 people signed a petition to have him arrested.

Pol Colonel Alongkorn said that a police complaint of animal cruelty was filed about his cat-scorpion video at Huay Kwang police station and has been transferred to Prawes station.

“I will investigate the complaint and if he is found guilty, he would be charged with animal cruelty,” Alongkorn said.

“Seven of them are charged with committing the crimes,” Pol General Suchart Theerasawat, the adviser (Level 10) of the National Police Office, said yesterday. “Two others are at this point suspected of having been involved in some way.”

The July 10 massacre shocked the nation. Shot execution-style were Worayuth Sunglung, a village head in Krabi’s Ao Luk district, and 10 other family members. Eight people were killed and three others were injured. The victims included women and children.

On July 16, police announced that suspected mastermind, Surifath “Bang Fath” Bannoppawongsakul, 41, and his alleged accomplices were now in custody.

“Surifath and Worayuth had a dispute over land plots that the latter used to obtain a mortgage from Surifath. After debts were cleared, Surifath had not returned the land-title deeds,” said Pol Maj-General Ittipol Achariyapradit, who is assigned to help with the investigation.

The ongoing investigation shows Worayuth was very angry and threatened to harm Surifath.

“Surifath claimed Worayuth attempted to shoot him once in 2013,” Ittipol said. “So far, there is no record of a complaint filed with police about the shooting.”

According to Ittipol, all suspects in the case are now being detained at a military camp. Interrogations are underway. A source revealed that the alleged accomplices of Surifath all testified that they were paid just Bt1,000 each to escort Surifath to Worayuth’s house.

During the raid at the house, Worayuth was also forced to transfer the ownership of his car to Surifath.

“These suspects said Surifath claimed Worayuth owed him more than Bt3 million,” the source said. “The suspects also said they disobeyed Surifath’s order to shoot the victims. Surifath thus shot all the victims himself.”