One of two suspects wanted for the armed holdup of an armoured cash transport van and the theft of 7.2 million baht in Bangkok's Nong Khaem district on Saturday night has been arrested.
Jirayut Suanmi, 20, was arrested on Phetkasem Road on Wednesday. Officers took him to his house in Bang Bon, where they found a black bag containing a large amount of cash, police said yesterday.
During questioning, Mr Jirayut said he and Thakdanai Niewrangjai, 27, robbed the Brink's Security van and divided the loot among themselves. Police are seeking information about Mr Thakdanai's whereabouts.
Mr Jirayut and Mr Thakdanai also confessed to robbing another cash transport van operated by the security firm in 2017 when they made off with about 6 million baht, police said.
The interrogation was carried out by national police chief Chaktip Chaijinda and other senior police officers at Nong Khan Plu station in Nong Khaem district yesterday. The robbery occurred at 7.50pm in front of a Big C Superstore on Phetkasem Road, when two Brink's Security employees were about to place a bag of cash they had picked up from a branch of Siam Commercial Bank into the armoured van.
Employee Chaiyut Somngam, 31, told police that he and Somyos Bukhunthes, 41, were at the rear of the van when two men pulled up on a motorcycle.
The pillion rider produced a gun and fired one shot into the air, then demanded Mr Chaiyut drop the money bag to the ground, police said. The driver picked it up, and the pillion rider fired another shot into the air before they fled the scene. A clip of the encounter has aired widely in the media.
