Cable thefts solved: Name on getaway car led to arrest of 3 thieves
Police were able to identify and arrest three thieves who were stealing electrical cables in Bangkok because the name of one of the thieves was written on the car they used to commit the crime.
Officers from the Don Mueang Police Station received numerous theft reports from a construction site of the New Connect Don Mueang condominium on the Vibhavadi Rangsit Road in the Don Mueang district of Bangkok and attempted to obtain footage from security cameras in the area to identify the thieves’ identities.
In one footage, the four thieves in all-black attires were seen walking and clawing slowly to a big roll of electric wires and gradually rolling the wire to their white pickup parked in front of the construction site.
They left no evidence at the scene to identify them. One of the gang was seen using his foot to erase the footprints before leaving the scene. Further examination of the CCTV footage eventually led police to an unexpected clue.
Officers spotted a full name written on the right side of the pickup used in the theft, and the name led to one of the thieves, 24 year old Anupong “Toey” Phothijhon. Toey was a worker at the construction site.
Police conducted further investigation and managed to identify other two suspects who were also the workers including a 22 year old man Jakkaphon “Joe” Jamratrak and a 23 year old man Jirawat “Rak” Sathittanaphan.
The three were arrested at the construction site on December 16. However, the identity of another thief has not yet been identified.
The three thieves confessed that they were electricians at the site and had committed three thefts. They sold the electric cables to a recycling shop, earning over 500,000 baht. They shared the money and used it for their pleasure.
The three face a penalty of one to five years in prison and a fine of 20,000 to 100,000 baht according to Section 334 of the Criminal Law: committing theft at night.
