Two suspects arrested in 3.4 million baht robbery at Bangkok mall
Gang posed as cryptocurrency exchange agents before vanishing with cash
Three victims, 35 year old Piyalab, 20 year old Rattaphum, and 29 year old Satjapoj, contacted officers from Phahonyothin Police Station after being robbed on the first floor of the shopping mall’s parking building yesterday, June 30.
All three victims were reportedly in shock. Satjapoj recounted the incident to police, stating that the group arranged to exchange 3.4 million baht in cash for 100,000 USDT in cryptocurrency. The agent facilitating the exchange was a Thai transgender woman with whom they had conducted two previous transactions.
The meeting was arranged at a coffee shop on the second floor of the mall. The agent arrived accompanied by four others, three men and one woman.
After a brief discussion at the coffee shop, the agent and her companions suggested continuing the conversation inside a car parked on the first floor of the building.
Piyalab and Rattaphum entered the back seat of the car, where two people were already present: a man in the driver’s seat and a woman in the front passenger seat.
Two more men then entered the vehicle and immediately held knives to the victims’ necks, ordering them to keep their heads down. The victims also noticed that the suspects were armed with guns.
Satjapoj, who was carrying the cash, was the last to arrive at the vehicle and was unaware of what had transpired.
The female suspect in the passenger seat exited and invited Satjapoj to sit in her place, claiming the exchange had been completed and instructing him to leave the money in the car.
Satjapoj entered the car and sat there to place the cash bag. Suddenly, another man opened the car door, threatened Satjapoj with a knife, and snatched the bag of cash before fleeing in another vehicle.
The remaining suspects in the original car drove around the parking lot with the three victims still inside. Satjapoj said he and his friends begged the suspects to return at least 22,000 baht to cover veterinary costs for a cat, as one of them operated a cat café, but their plea was ignored.
The suspects eventually released the victims and fled the scene, prompting the group to alert the police.
Phahonyothin Police Station officers today, July 1, confirmed that two of the seven suspects were apprehended. They were identified as a Thai man named Cherphat, also known as Whan, and a Thai woman named Nana. Both remain in custody for questioning, as police continue efforts to track down the remaining suspects.
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