134 street racers caught in Bangkok

Some of the 134 arrested street racers await processing outside Seacon Square on Srinakarin Road following a crackdown on dek waen racing early Saturday. (Photo from @Nithithorn.Official Facebook page)

More than 100 motorcycle racers were arrested in Bangkok early Saturday, while the creator of a Facebook page promoting street racing was caught in a separate operation.

A combined team of officers from several units arrested a total of 134 people, including 77 adults and 57 youths, and seized 120 motorcycles in areas under the jurisdiction of Metropolitan Police Division 4 in a crackdown on dek waen racing early Saturday.

All those arrested were rounded up and taken to a site outside the Seacon Square shopping mall on Srinakarin Road. They were asked to undergo urine tests and five tested positive for illicit drugs, said Pol Maj Gen Theerapong Wongratpithak, commander of Division 4.

Of the motorcycles seized, 43 were big bikes modified to make noises louder than the legal limit of 95 decibels. Police also inspected 33 motorcycle repair shops and seized 36 non-compliant exhaust systems, said Pol Maj Gen Theerapong.

The creator of a Facebook page for street racing, Thanapat Nuaywong, 21, was apprehended earlier at his house in Saphan Sung district of Bangkok, said Pol Col Nithithorn Jintakanon, acting chief of the Traffic Police Division.