Police have done an about-face and admitted that evidence points to the involvement of Thais, but not bank staff, in the theft of more than 12 million baht from 21 ATMs of the state-run Government Savings Bank.
Pol Gen Panya Mamen, the Royal Thai Police adviser who heads the team investigating the robbery, reversed the team's statement of the day before that only foreigners were involved.
The ATM heists were reported in Phuket, Surat Thani, Chumphon, Prachuap Khiri Khan, Phangnga, Phetchaburi and Bangkok. It forced the bank to close more than 3,000 ATMs, half of its total number nationwide, for checks.
Pol Gen Panya revealed possible Thai involvement after inspecting one of the bank's ATMs at a petrol station in Vibhavadi Soi 44 in Bangkok yesterday morning and one in Surat Thani later in the day.
He said the ATM in Vibhavadi Soi 44 was the first of five hacked in Bangkok. The thieves made off with 560,000 baht in total in three attacks on July 29 and 30.
The hackers inserted an electronic card produced in Ukraine into the machine, possibly introducing malware, and then simply hit the "cancel" button without punching a PIN. The ATM then dispensed cash to them, Pol Gen Panya said.
Although the maximum cash withdrawal is capped at 20,000 baht per withdrawal, the hackers manipulated the ATM to give out 40,000 baht, he said.
It is believed the suspects were either staying in the area or had just arrived at Don Mueang airport before they hacked the ATM on the night of July 29, he said.
After the first attack, they went to an ATM at Max Value supermarket in Sukhumvit Soi 23, hacking it in a similar manner.
Police obtained clear images of the suspects who withdrew money from this ATM several times, Pol Gen Panya said.
Investigators were compiling evidence to quickly seek arrest warrants for the suspects, but clearer information was expected over the next week.
"The investigation has found that some Thai people are involved in the crimes but they are not GSB staff," Pol Gen Panya said. He would not elaborate.
A source said some of cars used by the gang during the robberies were registered to Thai nationals.
Rental cars were also used, but they had false red licence plates attached, leading police to believe some Thais supplied them.
In Surat Thani, Pol Gen Panya and local investigators visited an ATM at a petrol station in Phunphin district. The ATM was hacked on Aug 1 and 2.6 million baht was stolen.
He said security cameras showed three different cars were used by the suspects in Phuket, Phangnga, Chumphon and Surat Thani where a total of 4.51 million baht was taken.
The three cars -- a white Toyota Vios, a Toyota Fortuner and a Honda Civic -- were believed to have been rented from either Phuket or Phangnga, he said.
At least two suspects travelled in the white Toyota Vios as they moved between ATMs in Surat Thani and Chumphon, while the other two cars were used in Phuket.
Pol Gen Panya said the suspects were believed to be from Eastern Europe who entered Thailand via Phuket some time before the ATM heist.
Police said previously the suspects might be linked to the multiple attacks on ATMs of a major domestic bank in Taiwan in July.
The Bank of Thailand said yesterday there had been no reports of similar attacks on the ATMs of other banks.
The BoT has been monitoring all banks since GSB reported the attacks.