Officers from the Central Investigation Bureau (CIB), working with the Crime Suppression Division (CSD), arrested the man, named only as ‘Mr Panuwat’, at a restaurant in Bangkok’s Bang Phlat district under a warrant issued by the Phuket Provincial Court on April 28 this year.
He is wanted on charges of jointly committing theft using a vehicle to facilitate the crime, transport stolen property or evade arrest, as well as theft from an employer.
According to the CIB, the case relates to an incident on Oct 10 last year when a petrol station in Phuket ordered 18,000 litres of fuel, worth about B550,000.
After the fuel tanker completed the delivery, station staff carried out a routine inspection of the fuel tanks and gauges and found that about 4,000 litres of fuel were missing.
The shortage, estimated to be worth B110,000, prompted the station owner to conduct an internal investigation.
Police said the investigation found evidence allegedly showing that Panuwat, who was responsible for inspecting the station’s fuel tanks before deliveries, had colluded with a fuel tanker driver to steal part of the shipment by exploiting weaknesses in the delivery process.
Investigators also believe the suspect had been involved in similar thefts on multiple occasions, causing significant financial losses to the business.
The station owner subsequently filed a complaint with police, who gathered evidence and secured an arrest warrant from the Phuket Provincial Court.
Crime Suppression Division investigators later traced Panuwat to Bangkok, where they learned he had found work at a restaurant in Bang Phlat district. Officers conducted surveillance before moving in to arrest him.
Police said Panuwat denied all charges during questioning, insisting he had no involvement in the alleged thefts.
The suspect was initially taken to Bang Phlat Police Station following his arrest before legal proceedings to return him to Phuket.
The CIB also urged businesses that receive fuel deliveries to carefully check fuel quantities both before and after every delivery to help prevent similar cases of fuel theft and fraud.