Police arrest a cross-border car theft gang in Ubon Ratchathani

Officers from the Central Bureau of Investigation (CIB) and the Ubon Ratchathani highway police have been arrested a mess involved to steal And sales of vehicles across borders. The suspects admitted to stealing three motorcycles in one day, earning 14,000 baht for their efforts.

Today, June 20, Kirati Hoemsrichat, Police Lieutenant Colonel of Highway Police Division 4, led the operation together with the CIB. The officers arrested two brothers, 21-year-old Manat and 27-year-old Johnny, from Khem Rat district, Ubon Ratchathani province. The arrests took place at their home in Village 9, Na Waeng Sub-district, Khem Rat District, following arrest warrants issued by the Yasothon Provincial Court.

The investigation began on March 1, when Anon Chaisat, deputy inspector of Yasothon City Police Station, received a report of three stolen motorcycles from Sing Tha Temple in Nai Mueang Subdistrict, Mueang Yasothon District.

The victims reported parking their motorcycles at the temple while attending a charity fair. When they returned around 11 p.m., they found their vehicles missing. Surveillance footage showed that five male suspects arrived in a bronze Toyota sedan with the license plate กอ 255 Ubon Ratchathani.

The investigation team tracked the suspects to Na Waeng Sub-district, Khem Rat District, Ubon Ratchathani Province. They obtained a court warrant to arrest 24-year-old Panuwat, the owner of the Toyota sedan used in the crime. Subsequent investigation led to the arrest of the two brothers. Police continue to search for the remaining two suspects involved in the theft.

Manat confessed during interrogation that Panuwat was responsible for connecting and starting the stolen motorcycles. Manat’s role was to break the motorcycle locks and drive them away from the scene.

The motorcycles were then hidden in a forest area in Khem Rat, waiting for the car theft gang from Laos to pick them up and smuggle them across the border for resale. Manat claimed that this was the first time he took part in such a crime and that he received 14,000 baht ($380) for his efforts, KhaoSod reported.

Police initially charged the suspects with nocturnal theft committed by two or more persons who used a vehicle to facilitate the crime or to transport the stolen goods. The suspects were handed over to investigators at Yasothon City Police Station for further legal proceedings.

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