Police catch convicted robber Saifa Kasemut after a ฿1.5 million Talat Thai bank raid. The gunman bars the doors, raids the safe and torches his rental getaway car, but CCTV leads police to a Bangkok resort within 24 hours of the brazen outrage by the career criminal.
Police captured convicted robber Saifa Kasemut, 54, at a Bangkok resort on Friday, barely 24 hours after a daring ฿1.5 million Pathum Thani bank raid. The masked gunman struck minutes before closing, barred the doors and threatened six people at gunpoint. He emptied the counter and safe before fleeing in a rented car carrying fake plates. The getaway vehicle was later found burned beside Phahonyothin Road. However, CCTV and vehicle records led investigators straight to Bangkok. Saifa was arrested with burns to his arm and injuries to his face and forearms. Police also found a white Toyota Vios nearby. Investigators are now tracing the stolen cash and possible accomplices. Crucially, Saifa was previously jailed for robbing a cash-delivery vehicle in Ayutthaya in 2012.
Police arrested a convicted robber on Friday over the brazen ฿1.5 million armed raid at Talat Thai market. The breakthrough came barely 24 hours after the masked gunman fled the Pathum Thani bank. Investigators tracked Mr Saifa Kasemut, 54, to a resort in Bangkok’s Khan Na Yao district. Officers moved in at about 4 pm on September 11 and arrested him.
Notably, Mr Saifa was carrying injuries when police caught up with him. Officers found burn marks on his left arm. Reports also described injuries to his face and forearms. Police linked those injuries to the fiery destruction of the getaway car following Thursday’s robbery. Investigators believe the burns were suffered while the vehicle was being set ablaze.
The arrest followed a rapid manhunt involving three police investigation teams. Provincial Police Region 1 worked alongside Pathum Thani Provincial Police and Khlong Luang Police Station.
Rented getaway car gives police a key lead after gunman escapes Talat Thai bank with ฿1.5 million
Investigators relentlessly worked through CCTV footage after the robber disappeared from Talat Thai. Eventually, that trail carried the hunt from Pathum Thani into Bangkok.
In parallel, police examined vehicles connected with the raid and the robber’s escape. Their investigation uncovered a key detail about the getaway car. It had been rented from a private company on September 3. Therefore, the vehicle was hired seven days before the bank was hit.
The robbery began during the final minutes of business on Thursday afternoon. The target was the TMBThanachart branch at Talat Thai market. The branch stands in Khlong Nueng subdistrict, Khlong Luang district. The gunman timed his entry for approximately five minutes before closing.
Police described the robber as a man standing approximately 170 centimetres tall. He wore a balaclava, red shirt and gloves. Once inside, he moved quickly to seal off the bank. He used an iron bar to bar the entrance and stop anyone else from entering.
Then, the robber produced a handgun and threatened everyone trapped inside. Five bank employees and one investigator were present. The gunman first forced staff to hand over approximately ฿500,000 from the counter. However, that was only the first part of the haul.
Next, he forced bank employees to open the safe. Another approximately ฿1 million in cash was taken. Altogether, the robber escaped with around ฿1.5 million. He then rushed from the branch and fled in a sedan displaying a Songkhla registration plate.
Police find burned getaway car with fake Songkhla plate after armed ฿1.5 million Talat Thai bank raid
In response, police immediately launched a major hunt across Khlong Luang. Investigators began checking surveillance cameras and tracing the getaway vehicle. Before long, officers found what appeared to be the robber’s attempt to wipe out crucial evidence.
The getaway car was discovered burned out beside inbound Phahonyothin Road. It had been abandoned on a dirt lot opposite Khlong Luang Post Office. Fire had completely destroyed the vehicle. Nevertheless, investigators began examining what remained.
Separately, police checked the Songkhla registration plate displayed during the escape. It was fake. That discovery added another element to the vehicle investigation. Detectives then began establishing the car’s real history and movements before the robbery.
As part of this, investigators discovered the vehicle had come from a private rental company. Records showed it was rented on September 3. Police consequently widened their examination of the rental and events during the following seven days.
CCTV trail leads police to Bangkok resort where burned and injured Talat Thai bank robber is arrested
At the same time, CCTV became increasingly important to the hunt. Investigators followed the suspect’s movements through surveillance footage. Police were able to continue tracing the robber despite the destruction of the getaway car.
By Friday afternoon, the trail had reached Bangkok. Investigators located Mr Saifa at a resort in the Ramintra area of Khan Na Yao district. Officers from the three investigation teams then closed in.
At approximately 4 pm, the manhunt ended with Mr Saifa’s arrest. His visible injuries immediately attracted investigators’ attention. Police found burn marks on his left arm. Furthermore, reports described injuries to his face and both forearms.
The injuries matched the circumstances surrounding the burning of the getaway vehicle, according to the supplied police account. Investigators are now examining those wounds alongside other evidence. They are also reconstructing the suspect’s movements after the car was abandoned.
White Toyota Vios and criminal history deepen police probe after Saifa is arrested at Bangkok resort
On another front, officers found a white Toyota Vios parked near the Bangkok arrest location. Investigators inspected the sedan and collected evidence from it. Police are examining that vehicle alongside others connected with Mr Saifa’s movements.
Meanwhile, Pol Lt Gen Wattana Yijin personally followed the fast-moving investigation. The Provincial Police Region 1 Commander travelled to inspect developments surrounding the case. Earlier, he had ordered investigative teams mobilised to hunt the robber continuously.
The operation brought together regional, provincial and Khlong Luang investigators. CCTV footage provided the trail as teams pursued the suspect. Vehicle records provided another route into his movements. Within roughly one day, police had tracked him into Bangkok.
Crucially, Friday’s arrest also exposed Mr Saifa’s previous record for a strikingly similar cash crime. A police background check revealed an earlier conviction involving a cash-delivery vehicle. That robbery took place in Phra Nakhon Si Ayutthaya province in 2012.
The earlier case occurred within the jurisdiction of Phra Intharacha Police Station. Mr Saifa was convicted and sent to prison. Subsequently, he was released before Thursday’s Talat Thai bank raid. Fourteen years separated the two robberies.
Police question Saifa over accomplices as vehicles, CCTV and burned getaway car drive widening inquiry
Following the arrest, police transported Mr Saifa back to Khlong Luang Police Station. Investigators began detailed questioning over Thursday’s robbery. They are seeking his motive and examining whether anyone else was involved.
Although the gunman entered the bank alone, police have not limited their inquiry to one person. Investigators are checking whether anyone assisted elsewhere in the operation. They are also examining other people potentially connected with his movements.
Furthermore, detectives are reconstructing the period before the gunman entered the branch. The rented getaway car forms a central part of that inquiry. Its September 3 rental date gives investigators a seven-day period before the robbery.
Afterwards, police must also reconstruct what happened following the escape from Talat Thai. The gunman fled with approximately ฿1.5 million before the getaway vehicle was burned. Investigators are examining how he travelled onwards after abandoning it.
The physical evidence has therefore become another major strand of the case. Police have the wreckage of the burned vehicle and its fake registration plate. They also have evidence collected from the white Toyota Vios found near the resort.
Burns and CCTV evidence tighten case after masked gunman escapes Talat Thai bank with ฿1.5 million
Additionally, investigators have Mr Saifa’s burn injuries to examine against events following the raid. The left arm showed clear burn marks when officers arrested him. His face and forearms were also reported injured.
Thursday’s robbery itself was over within minutes. The masked gunman entered just before closing and immediately sealed the bank entrance. He then threatened six people at gunpoint before emptying cash from the counter.
Yet he wanted more. The robber forced employees to open the safe and grabbed another approximately ฿1 million. Moments later, he was gone with around ฿1.5 million.
Outside, the sedan carrying the false Songkhla plate became his getaway vehicle. Later, that car was found consumed by fire beside Phahonyothin Road. The destruction failed to stop investigators from tracing its origins.
Rental records and CCTV lead police to Bangkok resort and arrest within 24 hours of Talat Thai bank raid
Instead, police established that the vehicle was rented one week earlier. Surveillance footage then helped investigators keep following the suspect. By the following afternoon, the hunt had moved to a Bangkok resort.
There, the 54-year-old convicted robber was arrested. Police also found the white Toyota Vios nearby and gathered further evidence. Mr Saifa was then returned to Pathum Thani for questioning.
Masked man stages armed robbery in Pathum Thani netting 1.5 million baht before torching getaway car
Friday’s arrest came roughly 24 hours after the gunman entered the Talat Thai branch. In that short period, police traced the rented getaway car, exposed its fake plate and followed the CCTV trail.
Now, investigators are concentrating on the stolen cash and the full sequence surrounding the raid. They are also examining whether another person played any role. Mr Saifa remained under interrogation at Khlong Luang Police Station following his arrest.
Join the Thai News forum, follow Thai Examiner on Facebook here
Follow Thai Examiner on Google here
Receive all our stories as they come out on Telegram here
Follow Thai Examiner here
Further reading:
Masked man stages armed robbery in Pathum Thani netting 1.5 million baht before torching getaway car
Insurgency erupts again in South with bold and brazen attacks on security forces shielded by border
Army security agency confirms bomb spree targeting tourist hotspots near Phuket linked to insurgency
