Police arrested six people believed to be part of an international ring responsible for stealing more than 200 motorbikes in the Pattaya area.
Thais Wuttdanai Rungarun, 21, Nichaphat Choksiri, 31, and Thanakorn Wattanasaewi, 38; and Cambodians Shangpeab, 35, Aon, 33, and Jeaw Meangkeang, 19, were captured by Banglamung and provincial police Oct. 17. Three stolen bikes, one license plate, a 9mm handgun and a number of anti-tampering devices were seized.
All the suspects were taken to a cassava field in Moo 4 village were all the stolen motorbikes allegedly had been hidden for a confession and reenactment.
Police said the thieves stole the motorcycles from Pattaya-area apartments and condos and loaded them into a pickup truck where they were covered with a tarp and taken to a cassava field for storage.
Pol. Maj. Gen. Nittipong Nheamnoi, deputy commander for Chonburi station, said police in Banglamung had arrested several Cambodians on bike-theft charges and, though interrogation, obtained the name of other alleged gang members.
The bikes would be hidden in the Nong Wah area until they could be transported to Aranyaprathet District in Srakeaw where they were sold for 6,000-10,000 baht each and smuggled over the border.
Thieves targeted high-end motorbikes and large motorcycles, individually stealing them from Pattaya-area apartments and condos and loading them into a pickup truck where they were covered with a tarp and taken to the cassava field for storage, police said.
