Phuket police arrest eight over alleged airport cargo theft

Phuket police have arrested eight people accused of stealing mobile phones and electronic goods from a cargo warehouse at Phuket International Airport, with seized goods and vehicles valued at more than B3 million.

Phuket Provincial Police announced the arrests on 4 November 2026 after officers stopped a group of people acting suspiciously near a checkpoint. Police said they found numerous mobile phones in bags, including items that had been unwrapped or removed from their packaging.

An investigation found that some suspects had allegedly worked with employees of an international cargo company to open a container during the loading and unloading process on 2 November. The container held goods imported from China for onward shipment to Russia. Police said phones and other electronics were removed, hidden and passed to a network of buyers.

Searches of three houses led to the arrest of eight people, including company employees, alleged accomplices and suspected buyers, police said. Seized items included mobile phones, tablets, smartwatches, wireless earphones, Bluetooth speakers, smart glasses, game consoles and other electronic equipment. Police also seized a pickup truck allegedly used in the offences, a saloon car and motorcycles.

Police said the goods had been legally imported and cleared through customs, but were allegedly removed during cargo handling and sold through social media. Some items were sold at prices well below their actual value. Investigators believe the group may have carried out more than eight thefts and are examining the buyer network, sales routes and any other people involved.

The suspects were initially charged with jointly committing night-time theft at an airport, involving two or more people and the use of vehicles to facilitate the offence or remove the property, as well as receiving stolen goods.

The commander of Phuket Provincial Police warned buyers and businesses to check the origins of goods offered at unusually low prices. Knowingly buying, or buying while having reasonable grounds to suspect that goods were obtained through crime, may constitute an offence for receiving stolen property, police said.