Newsletters
A five-member Chinese gang allegedly held a Turkish businessman and his housekeeper hostage in Thailand's Pattaya, stealing cryptocurrency, cash and luxury watches worth a reported ₺54.3 million ($1.3 million) before fleeing the country within six hours.
Thai police identified five Chinese nationals in connection with the Oct. 6 robbery, but investigators determined that the suspects had already left Thailand by the time authorities tracked down their identities, according to Turkish daily Sabah.
The victims were identified as 34-year-old Turkish businessman Kutay Aslan and his Myanmar national housekeeper, who were reportedly handcuffed and assaulted during the armed break-in.
According to the report, the gang rented a property near Aslan's luxury residence in Pattaya, a coastal city in Thailand, and began monitoring his movements before carrying out the robbery.
At approximately 3:30 a.m. on Oct. 6, three masked suspects armed with guns and knives forced their way into the house, restrained Aslan and his housekeeper with handcuffs and physically assaulted them.
The attackers then forced Aslan to hand over approximately $824,000 worth of Tether (USDT), a cryptocurrency designed to maintain a value equivalent to the U.S. dollar.
The suspects also made off with 210,000 Thai baht (about $6,200) in cash, five Rolex watches and four mobile phones, bringing the reported total value of the stolen assets to ₺54.3 million (over $1.3 million).
1 min read
Thai investigators examined security camera footage and evidence recovered from an abandoned getaway vehicle, eventually identifying five Chinese nationals allegedly involved in the robbery.
The suspects were named as Dong Ping, 38; Lixinle, 31; Wang Hongbo, 32; Mu Hongda, 33; and Zhiyu Wang, 31.
The Pattaya Provincial Court issued arrest warrants for all five suspects, although subsequent investigations revealed that they had fled Thailand through Don Mueang Airport within six hours of the robbery.
Authorities determined that the suspects had departed for destinations including China, Malaysia and Hong Kong.
Thai officials have since contacted the Chinese Embassy to pursue the suspects' extradition and submitted a request to Interpol for Red Notices, which are international alerts seeking the location and provisional arrest of wanted individuals.
Set as preferred source
Set as preferred source
1 min read
