Police Nab Two In Theft Ring

PHUKET TOWN: A motorbike theft ring was broken up by Muang district crime suppression officers on Sunday, Provincial Police Commander Kongpol Suwannaraks announced this morning. Officers arrested 38-year-old Sirisak Songsiri of Phuket Town near the Honda automobile dealership on Phang Nga Road at approximately 5 p.m. Sunday while he was attempting to steal a motorbike parked at the site of a car boot sale. Under questioning at the Muang District Police Station, the suspect confessed to having stolen 40 motorbikes in and around the municipality over the past nine months. Police later charged Sirisak with vehicle theft. The suspect told police he transported the stolen motorbikes to an agent based in Takua Pa, Phang Nga province, where they were resold to local residents and Burmese refugees for 18,000 baht apiece. The agent, identified by police as Somreung Soinak, was taken into custody in Takua Pa on Monday by a Muang district crime suppression team led by Pol Lt Col Chalit Thintanee. He was later charged with possession and sale of stolen goods. During the Takua Pa raid, police seized nine motorbikes allegedly stolen from Phuket, along with a bank passbook showing deposits totaling 600,000 baht. The recovered motorbikes are currently being held at the Muang District Police Station awaiting identification by their owners.