Suspect says movies inspired him to B6m gold burglary

Nanthakorn Khaoprai, 27, a former goalkeeper of Nan Football Club, tells police he decided to rob the gold shop after watching several movies about robberies at his home while unemployed. He was charged with the theft of 200 baht weight of gold necklaces worth more than 6.5 million baht after breaking into a shop in Nakhon Sawan. He was caught in Nan on Friday. (Photo by Chalit Pumruang)

NAKHON SAWAN: A former professional footballer arrested for breaking into a shop and stealing gold worth more than 6 million baht has told police he was inspired to turn to theft by several movies he watched while unemployed.

Nanthakorn Khaoprai, 27, a former goalkeeper of Nan Football Club, was caught on Friday.

He was a suspect in the burglary at Thaweechai 4 gold shop's Saphandam market branch in Muang district of Nakhon Sawan in the early hours of Dec 5.

The suspect had disappeared after the break-in. Investigators learned he had fled to his wife’s house in Nan, where he was caught. He had some of the stolen gold with him.

During interrogation, Mr Nanthakorn told police he had acted alone, monitoring activities of people at the gold shop for more than a week. He noticed the shop owner often left a key outside a door at the back of the shop so an employee could go inside. He bought a key similar to the one used by the shop owner, and waited for the right time.

Stolen gold seized from the house of the suspect in Nakhon Sawan. (Photo by Chalit Pumruang)

On the evening of Dec 4 he managed to swap the two keys, making off with the real one. Later that night he used the key to unlock the door and enter the shop. He stole gold necklaces and took them to his rented house in Nakhon Sawan.

He sold some of the loot in Phrae and Nan provinces for about 300,000 baht. Then he was arrested.

The suspect told investigators he was jobless and this drove him to commit the theft. After quitting football he had worked at a finance firm but was sacked when he became a suspect in a car theft case.

Unemployed and with nothing to occupy his time, he watched several films. They were about robberies - and that gave him the idea to imitate them.

The shop owner’s recklessness opened a loophole for him to easily enter the premises. He claimed he had earlier thought of robbing a cash-delivery van, but as he had no car in which to escape he opted to target the gold shop.

Police took the suspect to his house, where they found more of the stolen gold in a plastic bag.

A source said almost 90% of the stolen gold had been recovered.

Earlier, Pol Lt Col Pongnarit Pakkhapongrattanakul, investigation chief of Muang police station in Nakhon Sawan, said a showcase inside the shop had been forced open. All the gold was taken, leaving only empty trays.

He said 200 baht weight of gold had been stolen -- 200 necklaces each weighing 50 satang and 138 necklaces each weighing 25 satang. The gold was worth about 6,530,000 baht.

Owner Winai Thaweechaithavorn, 64, told police he had the shock of his life when he opened the shop on Wednesday morning and and found only empty trays in the showcase. The back door was open, but it was not forced open.

He could not find the the key he normally left on a hook near the back door. The shop’s closed-circuit security camera had been unplugged.