Phuket Youth Snatch Gang Targeted Holiday Tourists

[webfact]

Phuket youth snatch gang targeted holiday tourists

Phuket Gazette

All but one of the gang members arrested were juveniles. Photo: Atchaa Khamlo

Police suspect that all the members of the young bag-snatch gang had carp or devil face tattoos. Photo: Atchaa Khamlo

PHUKET: -- Police have arrested a juvenile gang of bag-snatchers responsible for at least 17 thefts targeting tourists on holiday in Phuket.

Chaiprasit ‘Jew’ Boonyok, 20, was identified as the leader of the seven-strong gang by Phuket Provincial Police Deputy Commander Pirayut Karajadi at a press conference held at Patong Police Station on Tuesday.

The gang members arrested comprised two 15-year-olds, two 16-year-olds, a 17 year-old and a 20-year-old. One of the gang members evaded arrest, and has reportedly returned to his home in Satun Province.

“We had been tracking the gang for two months,” said Maj Somsak Tongkliang of the Patong Police.

“According to our intelligence the gang members responsible for the string of recent tourist-targeted thefts around Patong, Kata and Karon Beach have tattoos of carp and devil faces,” he said.

The police got their break in the case when they received a report of a bag-snatch having taken place near Banzaan Market in Patong at 10pm on Monday.

A search of the area found Mr Chaiprasit acting suspiciously. He was interviewed by the police at the scene.

The police noticed a tattoo of a carp on his back, and deemed him worthy of further questioning back at the station.

During the interview at Patong Police Station, Mr Chaiprasit confessed that he and the rest of the gang had committed 17 similar robberies in Patong.

He told the police that following a successful crime they would sell the loot to the Delta shop at the Big C supercenter near Phuket Town.

Acting on that information, police then arrested Kitti Kasirak, 28, a Delta employee working at the shop’s mobile phone counter.

Police are to question the owner of the shop to ascertain if he were aware of Mr Kitti’s actions, or indeed, actively a part of them.

Mr Chaiprasit told the Gazette that he had been committing robberies for more than two years and had been caught three times.

He said that he spent the money on “loafing around” and buying such things as mobile phones and clothes, whereas the others used the proceeds to buy drugs.

As a result of the police operation, police seized two cameras, 10 mobile phones, two motorbikes and two gold rings from the boys’ houses in Kathu and Phuket City, as well as from the Delta shop.

All six boys were charged with theft and Mr Kitti was charged with accepting stolen property.

“They used motorbikes to snatch bags from unwary tourists who were either walking along the street or driving motorbikes,” said Col Pirayut.

“We believe there are about 40 other suspects currently involved in similar criminal activity. We are collecting evidence to effect their arrests,” he added.

“These events are ruining Phuket’s tourism image,” he added.

Source: http://www.phuketgaz...ticle16027.html

-- Phuket Gazette 2012-05-25

[Naam]

as so often "webfact" tries to lure me into reading a boring story starting with "Phuket Youth Snatch"

[chiang mai]

as so often "webfact" tries to lure me into reading a boring story starting with "Phuket Youth Snatch"

[Kananga]

Looks like the aircon must have been on full blast in the parade room.

Note to BIB. New tea money revenue stream - anyone with a tattoo of a fish.

And why would anyone who had just been picked up for questioning (with no evidence linking to any crime) buckle like that under questioning, and confess to multiple crimes and rat out his friends in the process. The interrogator must have perfected his 'technique'.

[fiddlehead]

as so often "webfact" tries to lure me into reading a boring story starting with "Phuket Youth Snatch"

Sometimes yes.

In this case the story is not so boring.

Especially if you shop at Big C and now know where the stolen goods have been ending up.

And the gang that is marked with these carp/devil tattoos. Interesting.

[NamKangMan]

"We had been tracking the gang for two months."

What, exactly, does this mean?

How many tourist did they rob in the last 2 months?

[Kananga]

"We had been tracking the gang for two months."

What, exactly, does this mean?

It means they had received complaints and reports about bag snatches for two months. But didnt know/bother to look for them till it was handed to them on a plate and they had someone they could beat a confession out of.

[NamKangMan]

"We had been tracking the gang for two months."

What, exactly, does this mean?

It means they had received complaints and reports about bag snatches for two months. But didnt know/bother to look for them till it was handed to them on a plate and they had someone they could beat a confession out of.

"We had been tracking the gang for two months."

What, exactly, does this mean?

It means they had received complaints and reports about bag snatches for two months. But didnt know/bother to look for them till it was handed to them on a plate and they had someone they could beat a confession out of.

So, letting a gang run rampant for 2 months is "tracking" them.

I'm sure 17 victims is a conservative figure. In reality, I'm sure there would be a lot more, and this is only one gang of how many on the island????

Edited May 25, 2012 by NamKangMan

[KeyserSoze01]

"We had been tracking the gang for two months."

What, exactly, does this mean?

It means they had received complaints and reports about bag snatches for two months. But didnt know/bother to look for them till it was handed to them on a plate and they had someone they could beat a confession out of.

Or they wanted a piece of the action and the kids had already fenced the goods and spent the baht. So they arrested them instead.

[shanahan]

as so often "webfact" tries to lure me into reading a boring story starting with "Phuket Youth Snatch"

Perhaps it would not be so boring if you or someone you knew had their belongings snatched. I could only imagine the inconvenience and frustration it would cause.

[belg]

wait, has been caugt 3 times, so why was he not in prison ????

[HongKongPhooey]

I think the BIB do a great job. Keep it up fellas.