BANGKOK, THAILAND – A burglar in a luxury housing estate forced open a villa safe and escaped with cash and watches worth more than 7.5 million baht.
Safe cracked in exclusive Ladawan Estate
The break-in took place in the night leading up to 5 December in the upscale Ladawan Estate on Ratchaphruek Road in Bangkok’s Taling Chan district. The target was house number 9/222, which the owner, Thananan Leethanasuk, had rented out to a Chinese friend. The tenant left the property at 4:30 p.m. and returned around 9:00 p.m., when she discovered that the safe on the second floor had been violently opened.
Watches and cash worth over 7.5 million baht stolen
Inside the safe, the thief found high-end valuables. Among the items stolen was a Patek Philippe watch valued at about 1.5 million baht, as well as a Jaeger-LeCoultre watch worth around 400,000 baht. The largest share of the haul consisted of cash, with 5.6 million baht in banknotes taken, bringing the total loss to roughly 7.5 million baht.
Police focus on CCTV and forensic evidence
Police at the Taling Chan station received an emergency call at 10:55 p.m. and immediately dispatched a team led by Police Lieutenant Amornphong Tuita. Officers secured the scene, took the tenant’s statement and began collecting initial traces of evidence. Investigators said they were concentrating on witness testimony, CCTV footage from the surrounding area and forensic traces inside the house.
Was it an insider or a professional gang?
The circumstances raised a series of questions for investigators. They were examining whether the perpetrator knew the precise location of the safe and was aware of the large amount of cash stored in the house. Police noted that the burglary occurred within a short, several-hour window, indicating a carefully planned operation and leaving open whether a lone thief or a group was involved.
Concerns over security in luxury compounds
The case cast a harsh light on security in exclusive residential developments where residents often feel protected behind gates and guards. Officers were also checking for possible links to other unsolved break-ins at high-end properties to determine whether this spectacular theft might be part of a wider series. For the tenant, the loss was not only financial, as her sense of safety within her own home was described as shattered.
Police urge stronger home security measures
The incident served as a warning to homeowners about safeguarding valuables. According to the police, safes should be professionally installed and placed in inconspicuous locations, and large amounts of cash should be kept in banks rather than private homes. Alarm systems and high-quality surveillance cameras were recommended as worthwhile investments, as officers in Taling Chan continued an intensive search for the multimillion-baht burglar.