Police arrested a Malaysian man yesterday in connection with the armed theft of jewellery worth about 7 million baht from a gold shop in Hat Yai on Tuesday.
The arrest was made at 5.30pm at the Southern Bus Terminal Bangkok, also known as Sai Tai Mai in Taling Chan district, said Pol Lt Gen Jirabhop Bhuridej, chief of the Central Investigation Bureau.
Pol Lt Gen Jirabhop did not go into details about the arrest, saying the man was taken to the Crime Suppression Division for further interrogation.
Earlier in the morning, the Songkhla Provincial Court approved an arrest warrant for the suspect.
Provincial Police Region 9 has offered a reward of up to 100,000 baht for information leading to the arrest of Yee Boon Long, 61.
A man carried out the robbery at the Thai Udom 2 gold shop on Montri Road in central Hat Yai at around 11.55am.
The unmasked, armed robber entered the shop, intimidated the staff, and seized 138 baht-weight of gold jewellery (about 2.1 kilogrammes) from the display cabinets before fleeing.
Yee: Had been deported before
Pol Lt Gen Piyawat Chalermsri, commissioner of Provincial Police Region 9, confirmed that investigators identified the suspect, a Malaysian national, and obtained an arrest warrant from the Songkhla Provincial Court on Tuesday evening.
Mr Yee is facing charges of armed robbery, using a vehicle to commit the offence, and possessing a firearm without permission/ carrying a firearm in public places without justifiable cause.
The suspect is known by several aliases, police said. His Thai name is Anucha Sae Yeo, and he is recorded as having previously robbed a gold shop in Hat Yai on Jan 6, 2017, for which he was sentenced to prison.
He was released on Sept 22, 2023, and deported to Malaysia through the Sadao checkpoint in Songkhla.
Police have now called off their manhunt for the fugitive.