Police said the suspects had stolen no less than 700,000 baht from ATM machines prior to their arrest yesterday (May 2).
The suspects include three Norweigen nationals of Sri Lankan descent – Mr Hussain Qasim, 31; Mr Qaiser Abbas Sha, 20, and Nganapooranan Ratnasabapathy, 51; as well as Mr Viothan Thiyagarsa, 29, a Dutch national and Mr A Nesaruban Arunachalam, 28, an Indian national.
Three of the suspects were aprehended near ATM machines, while the other two were arrested at an undisclosed hotel in Karon.
Police were alerted by locals about suspicious foreigners who were spending an unusual length of time at several different ATMs, and using the machines repeatedly.
Police arrived to one of the ATM machines in front of the Metadee hotel on the road that runs in front of Club Med, where they found Mr Viothan making multiple withdrawals.
Police searched the man, who had a bag with an “unusual amount of money”in his possession. After detaining the suspect, police continued to inspect other ATMs in the area.
They soon identified two more suspects, Mr Nganapooranan at an ATM near the Ket Kwan junction and Mr A Nesaruban near an ATM in front of Dee Dee Massage.
The ensuing interrogations led police to track down the other two suspects, who were nabbed right as they were allegedly trying to flee their hotel.
Police seized a total of 700,000 baht in cash from the first three suspects, as well as a number of fake ATM cards and skimming devices the men had in their possession.
Further investigations revealed that the suspects had traveled to Phuket two times before this trip – in late 2013 and in March this year. For this trip, the suspects had arrived to the island on April 28.
Police said that the suspects’ habits were suspiciously similar each time: Their previous visits lasted seven days and in lieu of paying a hotel deposit and room fees up front, the men had convinced hotel staff to allow them to submit their passports as collateral and would later come to pay their bills.
Police believe the men are part of an international skimming network. Investigations are ongoing.