TWO Colombian men have been arrested and charged with cycling around Chiang Mai and stealing goods with the latest house to be hit belonging to a Chinese family who lost over a million baht of their belongings, MNG Online said yesterday (Nov. 20).
Pol. Maj. Gen. Thawatchai Phongwiwatchachai, commander of Chiang Mai provincial police, and Pol. Col. Wirkawin Saemsrithanachai, superintendent of Hang Dong police station, announced the arrest of the Colombian pair, Mr. Cesar Armando Gomex Rodriguez, 20, and Mr. Sebastian Olaya Manrique, 26, with four bicycles seized as evidence.
This followed a complaint by Mr. Gou Sinan, a Chinese national, that at approximately 10 a.m. Nov. 15 he and his family left their house in Karnkanok Ville Village 18, Hang Dong district, and upon returning at around 9 p.m. found that it had been ransacked.
Several items were missing including 35,000 baht in yuan currency, five luxury watches and a brand-name handbag, all worth around 1,050,000 baht.
A check of CCTV footage inside and around the house showed that a man resembling a foreigner drove up in a white sedan, parked in front of this housing estate, walked in and opened the gate to this house.
Later two men who looked like foreigners rode up to this house in their bicycles and stole the belongings and rode out again. The man who had come in the sedan also drove away at the same time.
Police traced the two men who looked like the pair seen in the video clips and found them at the parking lot of Kad Wan Kham, Kad Farang project, Hang Dong district, and showed them the arrest warrants issued by Chiang Mai court then rounded them up.
They also seized two bicycles parked there and found two more the suspects had used parked at Varee School, Karnkanok Ville 18 Village, where the house that was ransacked is located.
Upon being informed of the facts, details of the reason for their arrest, their legal rights and the charges with the help of an interpreter, the two suspects denied all the charges but were taken for legal proceedings.
Police said investigation showed that the suspects had jointly stolen goods in Chiang Mai City, Phu Ping Ratchaniwet, San Sai and Saraphi police jurisdictions with the latest incident being theft of some marijuana from a shop in Chiang Mai City.
Pol. Maj. Gen. Thawatchai said he is confident of the evidence to prosecute the two suspects with investigation showing that the gang had stolen many times and parcelled the stolen goods back to their country, TV Channel 7 said.
Police are now chasing other members of this gang.
CAPTION:
The two Colombian suspects arrested by police. Photos: MNG Online
Also read: Grave robbers steal 12 skulls from Chonburi cemetery
Filipino held upon returning after stealing diamond necklace at store
Mass petition against Thai-Khmer undersea project to be submitted to Govt
Thai members to a joint undersea resources panel to be named ASAP
Workers evacuated, construction of Guanyin statue halted after blasts
Dozens are sickened and 1 person died after eating carrots contaminated with E. coli
