PATTAYA, Thailand – Two members of a gang responsible for a string of thefts targeting sacred items, including Buddha statues and relics were arrested by Banglamung police on April 6 in Pattaya.
Thanwa Satchoi, 34, and Waraporn Yomna, 34, were tracked down and taken into custody following a series of robberies between March 29 and April 3, during which sacred artefacts were stolen from various locations, including a construction company’s premises, a hotel, a roadside food stall, a security guard post, and a shoe distributor.
Pol. Maj. Nawin Sinthurat, Chief of Banglamung Police Station said that the criminal gang consisted of about four to five individuals. They used a red-and-black Honda Scoopy motorcycle for reconnaissance before using a stolen motorcycle to transport the stolen items to their hideout in Naklua village.
While two suspects were arrested, others managed to evade capture. One fugitive, known as Mr. Ham, believed to be the gang leader, fled together with an accomplice when police approached their hideout. The arrested individuals confessed to casing the targets and stealing brass sacred items, melting them down, and selling the material to a second-hand store to finance methamphetamine purchases.
Police recovered stolen items from a second-hand store and seized the axe used to break the sacred items for sale. Preliminary investigations linked the arrested gang members to previous theft cases in a department store and an old flea market in Pattaya.
