Three-member gang allegedly stole valuables from luxury cars
Police have arrested two men who allegedly smashed luxury cars' windows to steal valuables at mall parking lots or other sites in Bangkok's Wang Thong Lang and Bang Kapi districts. A third suspect is still being sought.
Natthawat Meunpinit, 23, and Chitiwan Klinkliang, 40, were arrested earlier this week along with 100 items of victims' valuables recovered from a house at Soi Lat Phrao. The house belonged to the alleged mastermind behind the thefts, Bodinpat Klinkliang, 37, city police chief Lt-General Sanit Mahathavorn told a press conference on Wednesday night.
The three men were accused of stealing valuables from parked luxury cars to re-sell the items, Sanit said.
The arrest stemmed from a July 3 complaint by the owner of a Mercedes Benz whose side window was smashed to steal her Fendi handbag and Hermes wallet at the Crystal Design Center's parking lot, Sanit said.
The theft was caught on CCTV cameras and police traced the two suspects on motorcycle heading back to the house. The house was searched after a search warrant was secured.
Natthawat, who had a prior criminal record for theft and drug abuse, reportedly confessed to police that he smashed car windows for valuables at various locations in Bangkok.
Chitiwan and Bodinpat were both found to have prior criminal records on theft charges in 2009 and in 2011.
Sanit said people who suspect they were victims of the gang can check the items recovered at Chokchai Police Station.