Busy burglar arrested
PHUKET: Police in Cherng Talay have arrested a man believed to be a member of a gang that has burgled at least 17 luxury homes in the Surin Beach area in the past two months.
Kornkarnokphan Suwan
Monday 2 July 2012, 04:20PM
Pol Col Jirasak Seamsak, at a press conference this morning (July 2), said that Wittawat Maneesri, 27, and his partners would first “case” houses and then break in when the owners went away, grabbing anything of value.
When Wittawat was arrested at his home, close to those of his victims, police also found iPods, iPads, DVD players, laptop computers, jewellery and even four golf bags with clubs and an entire home theatre. They recovered other items from a pawn shops.
They estimated the value of the stolen items at B500,000 or more.
Col Jirasak said that officers had managed to arrest Wittawat after looking at police records. They discovered that he was living in the area and had a record of previous arrests for burglary, and decided to visit him.
They found such a profusion of stolen items that they concluded he could not have shifted everything himself but must have had help.
Col Jirasak also added that police believed that Wittawat had a “private buyer”, possibly a foreigner.
Among the homes raided by the supposed gang were villas in Surin Springs, Ayara Hilltop, Baan Thai Surin and Layan Estate.
Col Jirasak said that burglary victims could come to Cherng Talay Police Station to claim their stolen belongings.
He added that other home-owners worried about their homes being broken into when they go away could contact the police so that regular patrols could keep an eye on their houses.
