Investigators are pursuing the mysterious robbery of a boat loaded with cash in foreign currencies worth almost 120 million baht near Losin island in Pattani last month.
Four robbery suspects in the attack on a boat loaded with foreign cash off the Pattani coast last month are presented at the Crime Suppression Division on Oct 25. They are Tawee Nitpran, Pan Sangthong, Prasert Songchuay and Sampan Wannurat (left to right). APICHIT JINAKUL
The attack happened about midday on Oct 2 when a tow boat, Sathapornwatthana, was transporting S$2.6 million (65 million baht) and 5.6 million Malaysian ringgit from Songkhla's Hat Yai district to a customer on the island.
The case emerged after Tangthai Banmahing, a representative of the foreign exchange trading firm Sahasab International Co hired to transport the cash, filed a complaint with the CSD on Oct 9.
Ms Tangthai told police the boat was carrying the cash from a foreign exchange trading firm in Songkhla to a "very important" client on the isolated island. The vessel left on Oct 2.
The boat, carrying six crew members, was attacked by six gunmen travelling in a speed boat.
One of the crew members used a radio to alert Sahasab International Co, which owned the vessel, about the attack before the firm lost contact with the boat.
On the same day, the firm's representative Tangthai alerted Pattani police about the incident before the Crime Suppression Division police were brought in to handle the investigation.
Pol Col Thinnakorn Rangmat, superintendent of the Crime Suppression Division's sub-division 6, said investigators were sent to collect information from money exchange shops in the far South, particularly in the Hat Yai and Muang Songkhla districts of Songkhla.
Sahasab International Co, a major money exchange operator in the South, was instructed to substantially increase the exchange rate for $1,000 Singapore dollar notes in a police plot to draw the thieves out of hiding to exchange the stolen money for local currency.
All S$1,000 dollar notes were stamped with a letter "S" by Sahasab International as a precautionary identification mark in the event of theft.
The tactic worked. A woman, known as Porn, phoned the shop and asked to exchange her Singapore dollars, worth about 2.5 million baht, according to the police. All of Ms Porn's bank notes were found to carry the "S" letter.
Ms Porn told investigators she had bought the bank notes from another woman.
The police then checked video records from CCTV cameras nearby, and found Ms Porn had been picked up from a Sahasab International branch by a Mitsubishi Pajero pickup truck.
The vehicle's licence plate shows the vehicle's owner is 47-year-old Tawee Nitpran of Songkhla's Muang district.
On Oct 22, Pol Col Thinnakorn ordered the investigators to raid Mr Tawee's house. He said they discovered S$1,000 banknotes and some Malaysian ringgit hidden in his bed.
Caught with the money, Mr Tawee agreed to supply information to the police, including a confession that he and seven other people were involved in the robbery, he said.
The other suspects are identified as Pan Sangthong, 47, Prasert Songchuay, 47, Sampan Wannurat, 47, Kittipit Thipkonglat, 42, Kasem Kanpan, 37, Somyot Sudleau, 43, and Akom Poonchana, 45.
Pol Col Thinnakorn said Mr Pan, a former crew member of Sathapornwatthana, devised the plan as he observed a huge amount of money being transported on the vessel when he worked there. Mr Akom and Mr Sampan, current crew members of the vessel, were to give the go-ahead signal to the group, Pol Col Thinnakorn said.
The gang bought a 500,000-baht, 10-seat speed boat for the attack.
On the day of the robbery, Mr Akom, who was on the vessel as a crew member, alerted the armed group about the boat delivery schedule. Mr Sampan, however, did not board the vessel that day as he fell ill.
The other group members, armed with an Uzi assault rifle, a 9mm handgun, a .357 revolver and a shotgun, opened fire on the money vessel forcing its crew to jump overboard. The attackers took all the money from the vessel before sinking it.
According to Pol Col Thinnakorn, the gang said they shot the fleeing crew members one by one in the sea. The bodies of the crew members and the Sathapornwatthana have not been found.
The gang then split up the proceeds. Some was taken to buy gold items, land and other assets. Police rounded up all the suspects last month.
Despite the arrest of their suspects, Pol Col Thinnakorn said police still have many unanswered questions. They will continue probing the case to determine whether other people were involved.
The investigators say they know the identity of the customer who ordered the money delivery. They believe the cash could be linked with phoy kuan, or underground money transfers, and an investigation is under way to track down the people involved, he added.
Police have decided bring in Mr Akom as a state witness as he was believed to have been forced to join the attack by the gang which had threatened to harm his family if he refused to cooperate.
About 40 million baht worth of foreign money has been recovered from the gang so far, Pol Col Thinnakorn said.
Contact Crime Track: crimetrack@bangkokpost.co.th