Police also suspect the Aussie to be responsible for the theft of a further ฿100,000 in designer handbags and sunglasses found at his rented home in Rassada after he failed to account and show receipts for his possession of the high-end merchandise.
Police officers in Phuket are urging luxury retail outlets to come forward and identify expensive merchandise seized from an Aussie suspected of theft who was arrested by police on a court warrant last Saturday as he returned to the resort city from Myanmar for the theft of an expensive drone from a high-end shopping centre on December 26th last. Blond-haired, 38-year-old Aydan Depp is facing up to 5 years in prison if convicted by a Thai court.
Police in Phuket are investigating the activities of an Australian tourist in Thailand after they discovered over ฿100,000 of suspected stolen goods at his rented home in the Rassada area of the resort city last Saturday.
Police officers suspect 38-year-old Ayden Depp of being an inveterate thief after they discovered a cache of luxury handbags and designer glasses when they searched the rented property as part of their investigation into a theft on December 26th last of a drone at the luxury Central Floresta shopping mall in Phuket.
Aussie with dyed blonde hair arrested at Phuket International Airport on Saturday on a court warrant
Police had earlier arrested the Aussie with dyed blonde hair at Phuket International Airport after he arrived back from a trip to Yangon in Myanmar on Saturday, January 4th.
A warrant was issued for the arrest of the Australian man on New Year’s Eve by a Phuket Court no 213/2019.
This followed a complaint to Phuket police at Wichit station from a gadget shop at the luxury shopping mall on December 27th that an expensive drone valued at nearly ฿29,000 had been whipped by the Aussie on December 26th.
The investigation onto Depp began after he was identified from CCTV footage from the shopping centre.
Thief blatantly lied to police initially
The thief blatantly refused under initial questioning to acknowledge the crime. He later relented and told officers that he walked away with the Parrot model drone after staff at the shop had refused him a refund on an earlier purchase.
Depp had bought an electric shaver at the shop but came back whining that it did work properly.
Australian walked out with drone valued at ฿29,000
Police explained that the retail outlet’s workers were so busy that day at they failed to see the Aussie walk out with the stolen merchandise.
At Wichit Police station on Saturday, Depp eventually admitted to police that the drone was at his accommodation.
Police escorted him to his home after he revealed that the drone was to be found there
Police escorted the suspect back to the property where the landlord, Mr Kan Kaewthanong, was also present to oversee the search and proceedings.
There, to their surprise, officers discovered a treasure trove of high-end merchandise including designer sunglasses and expensive handbags. Police also found the Parrot drone still intact in its box.
Evasive as police questioned him on the origin of expensive merchandise found at the property
At the property, Depp was evasive with police officers as they questioned him about the source or origin of the products.
On the basis that he failed to produce receipts for the goods, police seized the items.
Police officers are reaching out to shops at the luxury shopping centre and other high-end outlets in Phuket to identify if the merchandise was stolen by the Aussie thief.
Entered Thailand on November 4th on a tourist visa
Police discovered the Aydan Depp entered Thailand on November 4th and was due to depart on December 3rd.
The Aussie then extended his stay from December 3rd to January 2nd by applying at the local immigration office. He departed Thailand for Yangon on December 29th and returned on January 4th to find police waiting for him.
Initially charged with drone theft
Police have initially charged Depp with the theft of the drone worth ฿29,000 and are waiting to confirm that the other merchandise valued at over ฿100,000 was also stolen. He faces up to 5 years in prison if convicted by a Thai court.
Urging retailers to come forward and identify the seized goods so that further charges can be brought
The Commander of Tourist Police, Region 3, Major General Krissak Songmoonnak, briefed the media at a press conference last Sunday outlining the details of the case.
Police are also appealing to business owners who may have a victim of the Aussie’s activities in Phuket to come forward to claim ownership of the merchandise seized by police.
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Further reading:
Dutch national identified from CCTV using police biometric system after Ko Tao theft and arrested
Wiley UK man gets off by meeting the Thai woman he stole from and offering a tearful apology
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