French suspect arrested for theft, and Burmese suspect for human trafficking in Phetchaburi

In two separate incidents in Thailand’s central Phetchaburi province, police apprehended a French suspect for alleged theft, and a Burmese suspect for alleged human trafficking. Both arrests took place yesterday.

Phetchaburi Police arrested Patrick, a French suspect, at his residence in Phetchaburi on suspicion of theft against a Belgian man named Laffel C. Patrick allegedly stole Laffel’s backpack, which contained seven valuable items worth a total of 150,000 baht (US$4817), The Pattaya News reported.

Thai media reported that after Laffel filed a report, police issued an arrest warrant for Patrick, leading to his capture yesterday. No immediate plea or statement was released from Patrick regarding the charges.

In a separate case, Phetchaburi Police arrested Ton, a 31 year old Myanmar national, on human trafficking charges in Phetchaburi. Ton is accused of participating in the smuggling of 50 illegal Myanmar workers into Thailand.

While the police successfully intercepted the transportation of workers to the Chumphon province in southern Thailand, Ton initially managed to escape arrest. However, following an arrest warrant, officers successfully apprehended him in the Phetchaburi area yesterday.

Both suspects are currently undergoing separate legal processes.

The news of Ton’s alleged trafficking comes just two days after police arrested another Thai national for allegedly smuggling people into Thailand.

On Friday night, police arrested a Marine Department official for allegedly smuggling eight Chinese nationals into Thailand. Police found the suspect in a car with eight male Chinese individuals between 21 and 33 years old, who allegedly did not possess identification documents such as passports or ID cards. In addition to this, a licensed 9 millimetre Sig Sauer pistol, two magazines, and seven bullets were discovered inside a tote bag resting on the passenger seat.