Thai PM's vehicle stopped and searched by police: How did it happen?

A vehicle carrying Thai Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul was stopped by police and even searched while he was on a working visit to Buriram province in the northeast of the country. What happened?

The unusual moment, as reported by local Thai media Khaosod English and Bangkok Post on Tuesday (18/8/2026), occurred when Anutin was on a working visit to Buriram province on Sunday (16/8) local time. The moment was captured on video published by local Thai media.

In the footage, a black premium MPV was stopped by police at a checkpoint in the Buriram area. The vehicle was then inspected by police personnel and local district administrative officials.

The inspection was carried out at a joint checkpoint outside Ban Dan Police Station. The checkpoint was reportedly established as part of a government policy to increase checks on illegal firearms and drugs.

In his statement, Anutin denied accusations that the police inspection of his vehicle in Buriram had been staged. He said the officers were simply carrying out their routine duties at the checkpoint, and asked critics not to overreact to the inspection.

Anutin said the officers did not recognise his car because he was travelling at the time without an escort or official motorcade.

When asked whether the visit had been planned, Anutin said he was only visiting Buriram province during the holiday period after not having visited the province for several weeks.

The Thai prime minister explained that he was travelling with his personal team on a day off and did not notify local authorities in advance or arrange any special reception.

There was also no deployment of official personnel, so according to Anutin, local police had no reason to know who was inside the vehicle they had stopped.

Furthermore, Anutin, who also serves as interior minister, said he welcomed such inspections.

During the moment when his vehicle was inspected by police, Anutin was told that officers had previously arrested a suspected drug offender at the same checkpoint.

Local police told Anutin that a male motorcyclist had fallen over in a panic while being inspected and was found to be carrying drugs.

Anutin then asked officers what they had found during the inspection, to which one officer replied: “We only found drugs.”