5 security guards on drugs arrested for robbing army residence
Five security guards were arrested yesterday after they robbed an army residence in Bangkok. The thieves stole four lightning rods worth 200,000 baht but only received 16,000 baht for the stolen goods. The group also tested positive for drugs.
A soldier in charge of the security of army condominiums, inside the Royal Thai Armed Forces headquarters in the Don Mueng district of Bangkok, filed a complaint to the police after checking CCTV cameras. He witnessed three thieves stealing lightning rods from four buildings.
Police conducted an investigation on the back of the report and discovered that five men broke into four condominiums on Saturday, October 15 and Monday, October 24. They went up to the rooftops, cut the lightning rods into pieces, put them in bags, and fled from the scene in a red pickup vehicle.
The police later found the red pickup parked at Prom Samrit Village which is located about five metres away from the army residence.
The officer waited until the car owner, Panya Samsithong, who was featured on the CCTV camera, appeared and raided his house. Police found the other four suspects inside Panya’s home.
The 37 year old Panya confessed that he was a security guard head and a group leader. He invited friends, including 37 year old Sakkarin Pinyaphan, 43 year old Arnon Pluemyat, 36 year old Kanokpon Watpoompuang, and 38 year old Amnart Rooncharoen, to join the theft.
The security guards sold the lightning rods to a recycling shop in Pathum Thani province near Bangkok for 16,000 baht and shared the money with each other.
The security guards were charged under Section 336-2 of the Criminal Law: theft by using vehicles to facilitate an offence to take away a thing, or to escape from arrest. They could face more than three years in prison and a fine of more than 6,000 baht.
The officers reported that the suspects tested positive for drugs and that Panya’s house was where they were gathered.
The prosecution of their drug case had not yet been reported.
