PATHUM THANI - Police on Tuesday arrested a man they allege was the lone robber who held up a Kasikornbank branch in Khlong Luang district last Saturday.
Armed robber suspect Saman Hasto was taken to re-enact his robbery at a Kasikorn bank branch in Pathum Thani. (Photo by Pongpat Wongyala)
Pol Gen Nares Nantachoke, chief of Provincial Police Region 1, told a news conference the man was Samarn Hasto, 45.
Police arrested him at his home in Pruaksa housing estate 40, not far from the bank, he said.
Mr Samarn was accused of robbing the Kasikornbank branch in the Big C hypermarket, using a fake gun, and made off with 212,900 baht in cash.
He allegedly confessed to police that he decided to commit the crime because he was heavily indebted through online gambling and the creditor had threatened to kill him if he failed to settle his debts.
Mr Samarn told police that after the heist, he fled on motorcycle to a Pruaksa housing estate opposite the Big C hypermarket to change his outfit, and then rode on to his home in Pruaksa Housing Estate 40, nearby.
That same evening, Mr Samarn allegedly confessed, he returned to the same Big C outlet, where he deposited 50,000 baht into his wife's bank account at a Siam Commercial Bank branch, and then put the rest of the stolen money into into his own bank account to pay off his debts.
Pol Gen Nares said the arrest came after police spotted a suspect identified from security camera footage, taken in front of the Pruaksa Housing Estate 12/1, where Mr Samarn allegedly went to change his outfit.
The man was found riding a motorcycle with a helmet similar to the one used by the robber.
Investigators then spread out in the area to gather information before they were able to identify him and make the arrest, he said.
(Photo by Pongpat Wongyala)