Receptionist Drugged, Hotel Robbed By Foreigner In Phuket

[Konini]

It's quite obvious that the butler did it

Phuket Police suspect Arabs in B3mn locker heist

Phuket Gazette

“Karon Police officers have questioned the hotel guests who had their belongings stolen, but some of the them are Russians who do not speak English, so we have yet to compile a complete list of all the items stolen,” Col Arun said.

I'm quite puzzled by how the BiB have been able to come up with a figure, three million baht, when they haven't spoken to some of the guests.

Edited January 17, 2013 by Konini

[maidu]

It's quite obvious that the butler did it

Phuket Police suspect Arabs in B3mn locker heist

Phuket Gazette

“Karon Police officers have questioned the hotel guests who had their belongings stolen, but some of the them are Russians who do not speak English, so we have yet to compile a complete list of all the items stolen,” Col Arun said.

I'm quite puzzled by how the BiB have been able to come up with a figure, three million baht, when they haven't spoken to some of the guests.

The police don't speak English either. Must be interesting conversations. I wouldn't be surprised if, each time they interview a box holder, the amount of valuables will go up.

I'm leaning more to the scenario mentioned by Yoslim in #117 (receptionist did the dastardly deed). I'd be curious to see how professional an investigation the local cops wlll be doing. (amazing, I got the words 'professional' and 'local cops' in the same sentence!).

Suggest: take a good look at the receptionist's bank account and spending habits for the next months, plus those of his closest friend/lover. If he's caught spending extraordinary amounts or pawning items, then he can simply adopt the excuse that prominent Thai polititians use when caught spending obscene amounts of money: '" got lucky playing the lottery, several times recently."

[tingtongtourist]

There were 3 million THB in the guest deposit boxes and the hotel staff didn't steal it ?? And why would the guests keep that much in cash to start with? This story is full of holes.

maybe the hotel staff did enlist some help to steal it....like a receptionists farang boyfriend

havent read the whole thread or seen updates but that is what it look like to me after the first 2 pages

[jrincon17]

NICE SCORE ! I would up my cash that I said I put in there. Yup I had a million baht in there.

[SparklingCascades]

A male receptionist ?? Most receptionists are pretty females who can do with a coffee and company.

Then, this male receptionist is drugged by another male ? Makes me wanna sing 'Desperado'

sigh.....if true says a lot for the down-on-heel low budget - oft times - desperate, farang Thailand is attracting.

[Westaurel]

Farangs drugging Thais? That's a twist.

Middle East looking

He's not farang (a white man). He coming from Middle East also he should be arab (muslim) ? Maybe from a crime burglar organisated group ! Did he acted for himself or for a criminal team...

They are everywhere ! After Europe target they go to the Extreme East and now stealing in Thailand (the European tourists goods in Thailand). Now we've seen it all !

Edited January 17, 2013 by Westaurel

[kruangfaifar]

Who puts there Mobile/Cell phone in the hotels safety deposit boxes ??? would they not be using them

Not if you have got no mates:-)

[witsawakorn]

Farangs drugging Thais? That's a twist.

Middle East looking

He's not farang (a white man). He coming from Middle East also he should be arab (muslim) ? Maybe from a crime burglar organisated group ! Did he acted for himself or for a criminal team...

They are everywhere ! After Europe target they go to the Extreme East and now stealing in Thailand (the European tourists goods in Thailand). Now we've seen it all !

I am sure that I detect an Arab accent in your writing style !! Sorry but what are you talking about? Arab looking? He could easily be Spanish or Italian. You have to be very careful if you want to start judging based on appearance. I know a born and bred Scousers with a Father of Arab origin. Is he a Farang or an Arab? Actually as soon as he speaks you could only ever call him a Scouser:-)

[crazydrummerpauly]

And the scumbag even had the presence of mind to remove the CCTV tape. Now, THAT's what I'd call professionalism. The supposedly foreign thief's local counterparts still have a lot to learn...

Yet a few detail in the story somehow don't add up:

The thief broke into 21 safety deposit boxes behind the counter. How long did that take and how shoddy were those locks? And were there no other people around in the lobby the entire time? Why did the receptionist accept a cup of coffee from a supposed non-guest? I mean, if the thief WERE a guest, the receptionist could have easily identified him and in which room he was/had been staying, and also his passport details would be on file.

I smell something fishy here... but that's perhaps just me, always suspicious.

"How long did that take and how shoddy were those locks?"

Probably used a wonderful device called a Key/s - kept in Reception of course.

[meatboy]

is Copy Cat , and bet is a Thai , and receptionist is in on it . Dont add up, why would stranger give coffe to the guy, and why would he take it..

Coffee no, Sam Song soda yes.

where did the coffee come from? how many sugar's,what about finger prints on the cup[oops he wore gloves] how did he carry the items away,all this going on and only one person in the lobby,in 30yrs i have never ever been in an hotel lobby and only seen one person,no tuk tuk driver,no taxi driver,no porter,no i dont believe it[victor meldrew].

[fishhooks]

Who puts there Mobile/Cell phone in the hotels safety deposit boxes ??? would they not be using them

Strong assumption there sir!

Nothing to do with the subject matter and yes, many have a cheapie 'other phone' with a Thai Sim for use in the LOS!

Don't you know the famous saying here..... "Up To You"

In this case....."Up To Them"

Edited January 17, 2013 by fishhooks

[amboy]

I hope they capture this guy because I have a gut feeling he did the Samui crimes too.

[harada]

The logical explanation is that they were purchasing cheap pre-pay cell phones here and keeping their expensive phones from their perspective countries in the hotel safe deposit boxes.

Cell phones in North America typically do not allow interchangeable sim cards, they are dedicated to a specific provider.

Purchaced a cell phone in Australia recently and was told by the shop that there was no way that it coul be unblocked, it cost me 100 baht and a half an hour to have it unblocked in Chiang Mai .

[maidu]

If you offer a drink to a Thai guy who you just met, a caffeine/sugar energy drink will get accepted better than coffee.

[dighambara]

Farangs drugging Thais? That's a twist.

My understanding, farang refers to the westerners, especially the white ones.

Not sure that middle-easterners fall into this category.

Depending on source, the Thai word 'Farang' was either derived from 'Farangset' (Thai for French), or from the word 'foreign' and means 'foreigner', of any nationality, but is popularly used to mean 'caucasian' - not unlike the misuse of 'Gringo' in the US - originally blue eyes, blond hair, now any caucasian.

[96tehtarp]

Are these Roma?

[BradinAsia]

falang is any non-thai

He-he-he... where did you learn that?

Chinese, Japanese, and Koreans are not called farang.

[Jimi007]

Danish man wanted for Phuket hotel robbery

PHUKET: Police have issued an arrest warrant for the man believed to have drugged a Karon hotel receptionist on Monday and made off with B3 million worth of belongings from security boxes.

Tanyaluk Sakoot

Friday 18 January 2013, 03:18PM

1 / 5

The man who goes by the names Tony, Robert, Michael and Philippe, is wanted by police for the Karon robbery.

A man who variously goes by the names Tony, Robert, Michael and Philippe, holding a Danish passport, is understood to have committed the crime.

The belongings of 21 hotel guests, believed to worth as much as B3 million, were stolen from the Karon Place hotel when the robber gave coffee to the receptionist, causing her to feel drowsy and then fall asleep.

The thief also took away the recording from the hotel’s CCTV camera.

Police are also looking for another person believed to know details of the crime – a Danish man named Mustafa Rahmi Bildirir, 197cm tall and 48 years of age.

Karon policeman and Deputy Phuket Provincial commander Pol Col Arun Keawwati announced details of “Tony” and Mr Bildirir at a press conference in Karon earlier today.

Col Arun said the man used the name “Tony” to try to check into a room at the Lankans Hotel in Patong, but no rooms were available. He then used the name “Philippe” to rent a motorbike.

Col Arun said details of Tony and Mr Bildirir had been forwarded to all police stations and checkpoints around Phuket, and police were searching for both men.

Edited January 18, 2013 by Jimi007

[Payboy]

Doesn't look so middle eastern, does he?

[meatboy]

danish man with the name mustafa,must afa laugh

[tingtongtourist]

If you offer a drink to a Thai guy who you just met, a caffeine/sugar energy drink will get accepted better than coffee.

and offer Lao Khao accepted even easier

[Udox]

The hotel has 55 rooms. If they had 100% occupancy you can say (for the sake of argument) that perhaps half the rooms decided to use the 'safety' boxes. With an estimated 3 million value stolen - that equates to about 27 safety boxes each averaging contents inside of 111,000 baht.

Not making any accusations here but it does seem rather an excessive amount.

Most guests will put a passport, tickets and perhaps a mobile phone inside.

Just saying...............

Edited January 18, 2013 by Udox

[maidu]

Will be interesting to see whether the cops find any incriminating evidence associated with either Tony/Robert/Michael/Philippe or Mustafa Rahmi Bildirir the Dane (!) .....and how about a lie-dectector exam for the receptionist.

Just yesterday, had some Danes (and 4 other nationalities) trekking around the countryside, having a lovely wholesome time together. It's like a whole different world up here in northernmost Thailand, compared to the southern resort cities.

[Payboy]

Mustafa Rahmi Bildirir, 197cm tall

Guess he's ducked out of sight somewhere.

[hawker9000]

Not quite sure why this should become a Phuket bashing thread. There are enough of those anyway.

This could have happened anywhere.

I know this hotel (in fact I nearly posted this story on TV on Tuesday when I knew about this but didn't for the sake of the hotel owners and guests). It's in a fairly quiet area, mostly frequented by Swedish and just inside there's a front desk with one security person and the safety lockers are right behind. I'd never looked to see how secure they seemed but the fact they were forced open (not mentioned in the story) implies not very. Rooms are quite a distance from the front desk so I can see how nobody heard anything. It was obviously a targeted robbery.

Room safes are far from perfect but are they a better option than security lockers at the front desk?

I agree. When making hotel reservations through Agoda or whatever, if there's no in-room safe, that's pretty much a deal-killer for me, unless I know the place and the safety deposit boxes are behind the reception desk and in open view, and require the guest to provide his own lock. The hotel must be big enough that there'll be at least a few staff around at all times and more than likely some guest traffic through the lobby. No such thing as 100% security - as in this case forcing safety boxes open is often a possibility - but you can take steps to manage the risk. (I also would never bring my personal cellphone from the US into Thailand - which isn't going to work anyway - in the 1st place. 'Would consider carefully what exactly I'm leaving in the safety deposit box as well.) I hardly ever keep anything of much value in my suitcase, but I keep it locked in my room anyway, and have never had one messed with. The small "budget" hotels can be a tradeoff between room rate and security; many of the guesthouses probably a better option if you're on a tight budget.

[smotherb]

Farangs drugging Thais? That's a twist.

My understanding, farang refers to the westerners, especially the white ones.

Not sure that middle-easterners fall into this category.

falang is any non-thai

More like "any westerner", including southerners (Australians, New Zealanders) and northerners (Russians, etc).

I live in Hatyai, Malaysians are referred to as falang

[maturebrit]

as a non thai farang is really not used in only one context.... its foreigner...non Thai or Caucasian... take your pic

Sent from my GT-N7000 using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

[noob7]

I don't believe the story. Never been to an hotel yet where you've needed to drug the receptionists. They seem to be able to fall asleep on their own!!

I've never been to a hotel where the receptionist would accept a cup of coffee from a guest.

The whole story sounds wrong to me.

Security guard, not receptionist.

I don't know the scenario but not difficult to imagine how the perpetrator could gain a guard's confidence, walk around the corner to the 7-Eleven and return with a couple of coffees.

But it could just as well have involved collusion with the guard. If I find out more I will post it.

Security guard, isn't that the guy, who you have to wake up, in case you want that the id card get checked, from your escort?

[noob7]

Complete fabrication.

Thai security never sleep.

[noob7]

I don't believe a word of this. Why would a farang make coffee for the hotel receptionist? Why would the recetionist take a coffee from a farang? Then all the CCTV tapes go missing......I vote for The Receptionist - In The Lobby, and the Candlestick.

Why would a farang make coffee for a receptionist?

Possibly so he could drug it! And he didn't make it, he allegedly bought it at the 7-Eleven just around the corner. And they do have working CCTV, so I have been told.

And why would the receptionist take the coffee?

Because the perpetrator(s) had befriended the guy over the previous couple of evenings.

Is it only me?

Why the hell is a security guard or receptionist partying with people , who strolling around in 'his' hotel, late in the night, but aren't guests of this hotel?

On 3 nights in a row?

What ever is wrong on this story, the owner off the hotel has to fire this guy, anyway!