POLICE quickly tracked down and arrested two members of a gang of robbers who stole 3.4 million baht in cash from three victims who had met them at a shopping mall in Lad Prao area to buy a cryptocurrency last night (June 30), Thai Rath newspaper said.
Pol. Lt. Gen. Sayam Boonsom, head of the Metropolitan Police, led a team to arrest Mr. Cherpatch or Wan (surname withheld), and Ms. Nana (surname withheld), on charges of colluding to extort money, physically harm others and illegally possessing a firearm, with the duo taken to Phahon Yothin police station for further questioning. Seized from them was the money they stole from the victims.
The three of them called police at 7.34 p.m. last night after being robbed at this shopping mall’s car park and when a police team arrived they found them in a state of shock.
One of the victims related that she and her friends knew a cryptocurrency agent, who is a transgender woman, and had first bought cryptocurrency worth 300,000 baht then some more for 200,000 baht.
Being assured of these traders they negotiated to buy 100,000 USDT cryptocurrency for 3.4 million baht.
They first met the six members of this gang, four men, one woman as well as the transgender woman, at a second-floor coffee shop. After negotiating for a while the gang said the transaction should take place in a car parked on the first floor.
Two of her friends went with the gang members and got into the rear of the car while two robbers sat in front. Then two more robbers opened both rear doors and held knives at her friends’ throat, threatening to stab them to death if they resisted. Her friends noticed that the robbers also had a firearm.
When she came down with the bag with money, they told her to sit on the front passenger seat with a male robber also getting in and sitting next to her. He then pulled out a knife and held it to her throat, grabbed the money bag and ran to another sedan and drove away.
After that the other robbers drove this sedan around the first floor car park a couple of times then dropped them off and sped away.
She added that she asked for 22,000 baht to pay her cat’s medical bills but they refused to give her any.
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Top and Front Page:Two cryptocurrency robbers arrested and the victims at the shopping mall car park. Photos: Thai Rath
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