Thai cops nabbed a Chinese man after he stole around THB60,000 in cash from a fellow passenger on a Macau-Bangkok flight yesterday.
Yang Jian Xin, 42, from Henan province, admitted stealing the cash from the bag of a Chinese man he had followed from the city known for its casinos, Thai Visa reported.
Cabin crew spotted Yang taking the cash out of the passenger’s bag from the overhead compartment on the Air Asia flight.
They contacted airport security once they landed at Don Mueang airport, and the man was arrested and questioned by tourist police.
Yang admitted that he was part of a gang from Henan who target people flying out of Macau, as they often carry cash from winnings in the casino city, tourist police said.
The gang often target bags of their victims stored in the overhead compartments during flights, pretending to be looking for their own belongings.
In January a Chinese flyer was arrested after stealing THB197,000 from a Danish passenger’s bag on a flight from Istanbul to Bangkok.
Police said then they had been tracking the movements of “mid-flight thieves” for several months, but had run into difficulties in nabbing them as most victims only found out they had been robbed after leaving the airport.
