A lone man accused of making off with almost 9 million baht from a cash delivery van in Pattaya last month has been caught in Pathum Thani after phone records shed light on his activities.
Itthidet Phormee, alias Pornsawan or Keng Phormee, 40, of Uthai Thani, was apprehended at a car park at the Khlong Luang branch of Tesco Lotus on Friday and was taken to the Royal Thai Police Office on Saturday.
The robbery occurred at 6pm on April 6. Security camera footage shows a lone armed robber, wearing a full-face crash helmet, parking a motorcycle near a cash delivery van operated by Siam Administrative Management Co (Samco) in front of the south Pattaya branch of Siam Commercial Bank at the Big C superstore in Pattaya.
The man pulled out a pistol, fired one shot into the air and immediately snatched a bag of cash containing 8.8 million baht from two delivery guards.
Police investigators examined records of phone calls placed at the time around the superstore and said they detected suspicious contact with two women. Further investigation revealed that the suspect reportedly gave 500,000 baht in cash to the women, who later became witnesses in the case, Thairath Online reported.
Police said Mr Itthidet confessed that he carried out the robbery alone. He told them he set fire to the motorcycle in Klaeng district of Rayong after carrying out the robbery. He spent some of the stolen money to buy a Civic Honda car. About 5 million baht and a pistol used during the robbery were seized from him when he was arrested.
Police said the suspect was also wanted on arrest warrants in connection with murder and drug cases in Kamphaeng Phet and Phichit provinces.
The robbery attributed to Mr Itthidet was one of two major heists recently in Chon Buri province, both involving Samco, the cash-delivery and security arm of Siam Commercial Bank. In the first incident on March 27, the robbers got away with 5.4 million baht but were later caught.
A chart prepared by police details the activities of the Pattaya robbery suspect. (Photo by Chaiyot Phuttanapong)