Three men and a monk were caught stripping parts from a stolen van at a temple on Monday afternoon
The police arrested the men at Wat Nong Or in tambon Kho Loi of Phan Thong district. They allege the gang sold the parts from the stolen vehicles to public van operators.
The four suspects are Pith Preukserm, 26; Wasant Jitbanchong, 29; Chaichet Chomchuenchom, 48; and monk Suriya Intasri, 53.
The police found two Toyota vans at the site, next to the monk’s quarters. At the time of his arrest the monk, Suriya, was under one of the vans removing parts. Parts already stripped from the vehicle included the full front wheel assembly, tyres, radiator and water pump.
Pol Col Anucha Pongruangrong, superintendent of Phan Thong police station, said one of the seized vans was reported stolen from outside a hotel in Si Racha district. The owner, Worawut Tiewdechawat, 37, who provides transport for company employees and tourists, reported it missing on Sunday evening. A review of the GPS system records showed that it was in Phan Thong district, so a police team went to the spot, which turned out to be Wat Nong Or.
Police investigators said Mr Pith was the gang leader and the person who stole the vans. He would apply for a job as a van driver and copy the key. Later, he would quit and then return to steal the van. The other three men helped strip the vehicles of parts for resale.
Monk Suriya, who had been in monkhood since 1997, was a car repairer when a layman and was in charge of stripping the vehicles, the Bangkok Post reported.
