Suspect disguised as foreigner steals B627,083 from Phuket exchange shop
Police are reviewing CCTV after a masked man entered a currency exchange booth in a Wichit shopping centre and took cash from a safe in about three minutes.
A man disguised to look like a foreigner stole cash worth B627,083 from a currency exchange shop inside a shopping centre in Wichit, Mueang Phuket, police said.
The suspect was seen on CCTV wearing a dark blue cap, black jacket with white stripes, black shorts, dark-framed glasses and rubber gloves. He had a moustache and beard and went directly to the safe, which he opened quickly before taking foreign currency and leaving. The reported break-in took about three minutes.
Police said CCTV footage showed the incident between 9.13pm and 9.15pm on 20 July 2026. The shop, on the third floor of the unnamed shopping centre, was found to have been broken into when an employee arrived at about 9.30am that day, according to the report. The account also said the incident occurred late on 19 July, close to the centre’s closing time.
The stolen money was reported to include B175,050, €50, 50,000 Russian roubles and CHF1,000, with the total loss assessed at B627,083. The report also listed an additional foreign-currency amount in an inconsistent denomination.
Pol Col Somsak Thongkliang, chief of Wichit police station, said the suspect might not be a foreign national and could have used a disguise. Investigators are reviewing CCTV from inside and outside the shopping centre and questioning the exchange shop’s partners about the safe’s code, which was known to only a few people. The 67-year-old victim filed a police complaint on 20 July.
