A guesthouse owner in Phuket was overjoyed when police successfully recovered valuable and sentimental items that had been stolen by someone close to her — the restaurant manager, who was deeply in debt due to online gambling.
On November 14, officers from Kamala Police Station in Kathu District, Phuket, announced the arrest of 38-year-old Ms. Chanuphon, the restaurant manager at Daeng Guesthouse in Kamala. The stolen items were discovered in a package she had mailed to her hometown in Nakhon Sawan.
The case began when Ms. Sophia Brussaard, 33, the owner of Daeng Guesthouse, filed a police report on the evening of November 10. She provided photos of several stolen items, including:
- A 2.64-carat diamond ring worth 70,000 baht
- A 2.5-carat diamond ring worth 84,000 baht
- A Rolex Datejust 31 wristwatch worth 578,815 baht
- A Cartier Panthere wristwatch worth 159,000 baht
- A gold ring worth 32,000 baht
- A gold bracelet
- A 0.53-carat diamond ring worth 39,800 baht
- A 0.48-carat diamond ring worth 28,900 baht
- Chanel earrings worth 15,000 baht
These items were kept in a red, round jewelry box inside a cupboard in one of the guest rooms. Ms. Sophia last saw the jewelry box on October 12, 2024, and she suspected that someone within the guesthouse was responsible for the theft.
Upon investigation, police found that only three employees had access to a spare key to the guesthouse rooms. One of them was Ms. Chanuphon, who had a known gambling addiction. Following further inquiry, police began to suspect her involvement in the theft. She was summoned for questioning on November 13.
At first, Ms. Chanuphon denied the allegations. However, investigators found that her phone had searched for the prices of luxury watches and diamond rings that matched the stolen items. Faced with this evidence, she confessed to selling the gold bracelet for 70,000 baht and mailing the remaining items to Nakhon Sawan on November 13.
Led by Pol. Col. Somsak Tongklieng, the investigation team intercepted the package at the Phuket Post Office and recovered the stolen Rolex, Cartier watch, diamond rings, and Chanel earrings, with a total value close to 1 million baht.
Ms. Chanuphon admitted to stealing the items to pay off her online gambling debts and had planned to send the valuables to her boyfriend in Nakhon Sawan. She was charged with theft, and the recovered items were returned to Ms. Sophia.
Ms. Sophia expressed her gratitude to the Kamala police for their swift action in tracking down the thief and recovering the stolen goods. Some of the items had belonged to her mother and held great sentimental value, far beyond their monetary worth.
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