
Three Chinese men escaped to Hong Kong after breaking into a house in Chon Buri, tying up a compatriot for money and kidnapping his female cousin on Wednesday night.
Authorities obtained information from a key witness who was hired to pick up the three Chinese men and their alleged abductee to Suvarnabhumi airport in Samut Prakan in the early hours of Thursday.
Investigators believed the victim's cousin colluded with the three men in extorting the businessman.
The incident took place in a luxury housing estate in tambon Nong Prue, said Pol Capt Damchaluay Samkhanying, deputy investigation chief at Nong Prue station, and was reported around 1am.
Police and immigration officers found the house owner, Qian Peng Yi, visibly frightened with marks from being tied up with a cable.
Qian, 34, told police that a group of three men invaded his home at 9pm, and one of them brandished a gun at him, directing him to his bedroom. They proceeded to bind his hands and feet, gag him with cloth, secure his head with tape and force him onto the bed.
The intruders coerced him to transfer 10 million baht to a bank account, threatening the life of his 33-year-old cousin, Tu Peizhi, who was in her second-floor bedroom.
They also ransacked the house in search of valuables.
Despite continuous pressure to transfer the money, Qian refused. Shortly after, he managed to escape the house when the men were not watching. He hid nearby, witnessing them departing with his cousin in a car.
In the early hours of Thursday, the house owner sought help and filed a police complaint, fearing for his cousin's safety.
Officials inspected the house and reviewed security camera footage at the scene and nearby areas.
Around 9pm on Thursday, a 30-year-old van driver, arrived at Bang Lamung police station after being contacted by an agency to transport the Chinese customers from Pattaya to Suvarnabhumi airport.
The driver told police that he had been instructed to pick them up at a hotel on Soi Pornprapanimit 7, located about one kilometre from the Chinese businessman's residence, at 10pm on Wednesday. Despite waiting, the customers did not emerge from the hotel.
After multiple delays and additional fees promised, a group of four Chinese individuals, one possibly a woman disguised as a man, arrived at around 11.15pm. He then transported them to the airport, arriving around 1am, for which he was paid 1,800 baht.
The driver photographed the group smoking at the airport entrance, identifying one as the victim's cousin. Investigators suspected collusion between her and the three suspects in the robbery of her cousin, supported by the timeline indicating the synchronised arrival and departure of the men from Thailand on the same flight.
Officers were gathering evidence to seek approval from the Pattaya Provincial Court to issue arrest warrants for the four Chinese nationals, including the alleged abductee, said a police source.