Police have arrested the two remaining suspects in connection with the theft of almost 20 million baht destined for Krung Thai Bank's automatic teller machines in Khon Kaen as the first suspect caught insisted he had committed the crime alone.
Khon Kaen police chief Pol Maj Gen Jitjaroon Sriwanich, said Sunday police had apprehended Thawatchai Samranbamrung and Surasak Prasertsang and would disclose more details later as they were questioning them.
The duo and Sompote Phosom, who are employees of the Khon Kaen branch of KTB General Services (KTBGS), were assigned to deliver 19.7 million baht in cash to Krung Thai Bank's ATMs in the Khon Kaen municipality between Monday and Friday.
The bank filed a complaint with police on Saturday after finding that the money was missing as it could not be found in the transaction records of 17 ATMs in the service area, and the three men had disappeared.
Mr Sompote fled across the border through the Nong Khai immigration checkpoint but was detained and sent back to Khon Kaen on Saturday night. Police seized 1.8 million baht in cash from him.
Provincial Police Region 4 commissioner Pol Lt Gen Boonlert Jaipradit said Mr Sompote confessed that he began stealing money from the bank in March when he was assigned to fill cash at ATMs in the Khon Kaen city area. So far he taken 19.7 million baht .
He said Mr Thawatchai and Mr Surasak were not involved in the theft and that he committed the crime to try to settle debts of several hundred thousand baht he owed to loan sharks. He was also addicted to online gambling and spent the stolen money on it.
Mr Sompote had gone on a spending spree with the money by going places with his family members and giving away between 5,000 and 200,000 baht to 20 relatives and friends.
Mr Sompote said before he fled to Laos he had given his alleged two accomplices 100,000 baht each and told them to spend it with their families during the four-day weekend, Pol Lt Gen Boonlert said.
The suspect had worked at KTBGS for 15 years. He and his colleagues were responsible for 20 ATMs in the municipal area. Police would question family members of the three men and investigate if more people had taken part in the theft, Pol Lt Gen Boonlert said.