Police nab prolific thief
PHUKET CITY: Phuket City Police announced the arrest of suspected thief Somsak Kaewdee, 27, at a press conference on Tuesday.
Somsak, a resident of tambon Thepkrasattri, in Thalang district, is accused of robbing homes and small shops throughout Phuket.
He was arrested at the entrance of Soi Hone Sai Thong, in Moo 7, Rassada, on Monday at 2:30 am, said Lt Col Sompong Boonrat of Phuket City police.
At the time of his arrest, Somsak was wanted under eight warrants for his involvement in eight robberies since June: four in Phuket City, two in Thalang and two in Kathu, he said.
Police were able to collect fingerprints at many of the crime scenes. After checking the prints against their records, Somsak was revealed as the main suspect, said Col Sompong.
He added that Somsak had provided the names of two friends as his accomplices – “Jessada” and “Su” – and had confessed to robberies in all three districts of Phuket; so far a total of 12 in all.
Col Sompong said that police know the location of the homes of Somak’s accomplices.
Somsak told police that the gang wanted to steal cash only and targeted private properties and shops. He estimated that the gang had stolen over one million baht in cash, said Col Sompong.
He added that Somsak said the trio looked for houses with slide windows that could easily be broken into and that their largest haul from a robbery was 1.2 million baht from a home in Kissalai village on Chao Fa East Rd.
