The brazen theft at sunrise
At 5:35 am on August 25, the gang rolled into a recycling factory in Nong Pla Lai in a bronze Toyota pickup. Within minutes, they had unmoored a gleaming 37-foot speedboat and hauled it away. The owner, stunned by the audacity, later reported the loss, valuing the craft at around 55,000 euros.
Familiar faces behind the crime
“These were not strangers,” a Banglamung police investigator revealed. The trio had previously tried to buy the boat legally. When negotiations collapsed, they simply took it. Powered by twin high-performance engines, the vessel was ideal for ferrying tourists to Thailand’s island hotspots.
A trail to the repaint shop
Under the command of Colonel Sarawut Nuchanart, detectives traced the stolen craft to a workshop in Soi Khao Noi. The unsuspecting owner was told the boat had been “seized for debt repayment.” Police pounced on September 16 at 5 pm, arresting Songyot, 45, Natthawut, 45, and Jakraphong, 43—all veterans of the speedboat trade.
The suspects’ shaky defence
Natthawut, seen as the ringleader, denied wrongdoing. “We had an agreement with the factory owner,” he insisted, claiming the takeover was legitimate. Yet CCTV footage captured the theft, the getaway pickup has been seized, and the workshop confirmed repainting the boat at their request. “Their claims simply don’t match the facts,” said Police Major Kornphong Sukvisith.
Crime in the tourism industry
The case exposes murky corners of Thailand’s tourism sector, where speedboats are in high demand. Investigators believe the men intended to fold the stolen vessel into their own operations. Now, the trio face trial and potentially long prison terms. Police are probing whether other boats may have been “rebranded” in the same way.