PHUKET: A German national who stole 86,000 baht in cash from a counter at a hotel in Patong and smiled at a security camera before fleeing in the early hours of Thursday has now been arrested.
Police arrested Mohamed Yassine Zariouh, 22, at Patong beach town on Friday evening. He was wanted on an arrest warrant issued by the Phuket Provincial Court on Friday for theft, said Patong police.
The arrest came after a hotel employee lodged a complaint, stating that a foreign man had approached the hotel counter around 3am on Thursday. The man proceeded to open the drawer, take an envelope containing 86,000 baht in cash and fled.
Footage of the hotel’s closed-circuit television (CCTV) camera captured the incident, showing the man glancing at the camera and smiling.
The suspect was held in police custody at Patong station, awaiting legal action. No details regarding the motive for the theft have been provided by the police.