The checks are being conducted after police learned that the man, identified by a British passport naming him as Charlie Machin, does not have a job or has not been working during his stay on the island.
At just after 1am last Thursday, Lt Col Saard Wongweangjan together with Lt Col Chaiyut Kongkaew of the Cherng Talay Police arrested British national Machin at a property in Soi Na Koh, Moo 3, Cherng Talay following a tip-off that he was suspected of stealing items, including an iPhone 6 from a foreign woman in Cherng Talay.
Using the Track My iPhone app, Russian expat Tatiana Motora, whose house in Cherng Talay had just been robbed, found that her iPhone was at a property in Soi Na Koh. She informed the police, who went and found Machin in the house along with the stolen iPhone.
Police also seized as evidence two iPhone 6s, an iPad, a Cannon camera, a MacBook, two brown wallets, four passports, a key chain, an external hard disk, a black bag and a Yamaha motorbike.
Last Friday (Feb 24), Lt Col Sakon Krainara also of the Cherng Talay Police confirmed to The Phuket News that Machin admitted to stealing the iPhone from Ms Motora and that the other items had been stolen from Kamala, Thalang and Sakoo. (See story here.)
Speaking to The Phuket News today (Mar 1), Lt Col Sakon said, “After we arrested Machin on Feb 23 his partner told us that he does not have job or has not been working in Phuket so I want to know his criminal history.”
When asked whether he believed Machin had been involved in other crimes in Phuket, Lt Col Sakon said, “I don’t know, the island’s police stations work separately so I cannot say at present whether he has been involved in other crimes. This is the reason why we need more information from the RTP.”
“I have sent the police report on Machin to our Interpol division in Bangkok, and I also requested information yesterday (Feb 28) from the Phuket Immigration Office to see how many times, if any, he has left the country.
“I am still waiting for replies from these officials,” he said.
“Machin is now in the hands of Phuket Provincial Court where is awaiting trial. He can be held there for 12 days from Feb 24,” he added.