Filipino pickpockets in Bangkok get ‘Thai’d up by the cops

Thai police apprehended a group of Filipino pickpockets targeting tourists in a prominent hotel in the Phaya Thai area of Bangkok. The suspects are now facing charges for their night-time theft activities.

The arrest occurred yesterday, October 21 at approximately 4pm, led by Police Major General Witwat Chinkam, along with other high-ranking officials from Thonglor Police Station. Seven Filipino suspects, aged between 28 and 67 years old, were detained in rooms 202, 204, 211, and 303 of a well-known hotel in the Sam Sen Nai subdistrict of Phaya Thai, Bangkok. The police also recovered the clothing worn by the suspects during their alleged crimes.

Officers from Thonglor Police Station had been alerted to the presence of a foreign pickpocket gang targeting the bustling Sukhumvit and Asoke business districts.

Following a complaint from a South Korean man who reported being targeted by a pickpocketing gang at Sukhumvit Soi 33 in Watthana district around 6.40pm on October 16, the investigation team promptly reviewed CCTV footage from the area and identified the suspects as Filipinos, said a police spokesperson.

“We received reports of a foreign gang involved in pickpocketing around the Sukhumvit and Asoke areas, especially in business-heavy zones. Our investigation led us to identify the suspects and their hideout in a Phaya Thai hotel.”

Following their crimes, the suspects would reportedly retreat to their hotel rooms in Phaya Thai. Acting on this information, the investigation team from Thonglor Police Station conducted a thorough search of the hotel, leading to the successful capture of the suspects, reported KhaoSod.

Once apprehended, the suspects were found with the clothing they allegedly wore during the pickpocketing incidents. The police immediately transferred them, along with the evidence, to Thonglor Police Station for further legal proceedings.

In related news, a foreign tourist confronted a Thai teenager in Sukhumvit Soi 11 in Bangkok after catching him pickpocketing £400 (approximately 17,700 baht). The incident turned heated as the tourist demanded the return of his money, assisted by a local Thai woman.