A Pattaya court has issued arrest warrants for five suspects over the armed robbery of a Turkish businessman’s luxury home in Chon Buri, but police say all five have already left Thailand.
Provincial Police Region 2 is coordinating with the Chinese embassy and taking steps to request an Interpol Red Notice, an international alert used to locate wanted people and seek their arrest.
The robbery took place at about 3.30am on October 6 at a luxury home in Nong Prue subdistrict, Bang Lamung district. Three men dressed in black, with their faces covered, broke in carrying a gun and knives.
The men threatened and assaulted 34 year old Kutay Aslan, then handcuffed him and a Myanmar cleaner. They took 824,000 USDT in cryptocurrency, 210,000 baht in cash, five Rolex watches and four mobile phones, a total of about 37 million baht (US$1.1 million).
Police checked CCTV along the suspected escape route and found a Toyota Fortuner linked to the case abandoned in Pattaya. Officers seized 14 items from the vehicle, including balaclavas, gloves, clothing, shoes and an aluminium ladder, and sent them for forensic examination.
Investigators also reviewed witness statements, the car’s GPS data, car and house rental records, hotel stays and border crossing history. They compared the clothing in the evidence with the suspects’ outfits, which led to five names.
The suspects are 38 year old Dong Ping, who is accused of renting the car and the house for the group, 31 year old Lixinle, 32 year old Wang Hongbo, 33 year old Mu Hongda and 31 year old Zhiyu Wang.
Pattaya Provincial Court approved the warrants on October 9. The five face charges of joint armed robbery at a residence at night, damaging a protective barrier, using a vehicle to commit the offence, causing physical or mental harm, illegal detention and firearms offences.
Travel records show all five have since left Thailand. Police are now working to bring them back to face charges under Thai law.
Police are also tracing where the stolen assets went, particularly the cryptocurrency worth tens of millions of baht, and checking whether anyone else was involved.
Provincial Police Region 2 said it gathered enough evidence for the warrants within three days of the robbery. It added that it will keep working with agencies in Thailand and overseas to arrest the suspects and recover the victim’s belongings.
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