Almost all Samco cash recovered

General News - Sunday December 16, 2007

Police failure inspires robbery gang

Almost all Samco cash recovered

A gang of thieves accused of robbing a Siam Administrative Management Co (Samco) cash delivery truck said they planned the heist because police had never caught the culprits of similar robberies in the past. Pundit Tuengnok, the alleged leader of the gang and a former Samco employee, said they thought it would be easy to get away with the crime as police had never caught any culprits involved in similar robberies in the past.

He said he and three others planned the robbery which was carried out at 2am on Friday, adding the idea grew from a casual talk that Samco vehicles had been robbed several times in the past, but police had never made any arrests.

Mr Pundit and another alleged gang member, Uthit Puekchan, who were both arrested on Friday, were detained in the Criminal Court jail yesterday.

They have been charged with armed robbery, collaborating in a holdup, and illegal possession of weapons. Police opposed their request for bail. The gang made off with 17.1 million baht. Three million baht was left in the van.

Police have now recovered almost all of the stolen cash, with more than 10 million baht discovered hidden in a housing estate in Rangsit yesterday.

Police have also arrested another three alleged gang members _ Thawon Mongkolnam, Prakit Thongtaeng, and Suriya Painarin, a former Samco employee.

Mr Pundit said they hatched the plot 10 days before the robbery and tracked the route of the vehicle about a week before the heist. However, he denied any involvement in two previous heists.

In June, thieves made off with 3.5 million baht in cash when a Samco cash delivery vehicle was robbed at a Bank of Ayudhya branch on Rama IX road in Suan Luang district. And on Nov 29, another of the company's vehicles was held up in Lat Krabang district. Thieves made off with nearly 23 million baht.

Police have yet to make any arrests in connection with the robberies.

Pol Col Preecha Thimamontri, deputy chief of an investigation team under the Metropolitan Police Bureau, said another two gang members, Anont Puangampai and Wanlop Soisong, were arrested separately in Phetchaburi and Chon Buri.

Bangkok Post