BANGKOK — A jewelry merchant rushed to file a police report after a Canadian man stole three gemstones worth 14.5 million baht or 400,000 US dollars. The merchant was particularly upset because the suspect was someone he had known for 10 years. Police investigation revealed that the suspect had already left Thailand on July 17, with Switzerland as his destination.
On July 19, Police Lieutenant Phuwiwat Jira-akkaratas, Deputy Inspector (Investigation) of Yannawa Police Station, received a report from a 40-year-old gem merchant who claimed to have lost three gemstones:
- A yellow gemstone weighing 149.02 carats, valued at approximately 10,500,000 baht
- A blue gemstone weighing 13.03 carats, valued at approximately 2,000,000 baht
- Another blue gemstone weighing 13.01 carats, also valued at approximately 2,000,000 baht
The total value of the stolen gems was about 14,500,000 baht. The incident occurred at 10:00 a.m. on July 17.
During the investigation, the victim stated that he had arranged to meet Mr. Aamir, a 40-year-old Canadian whom he had known for 10 years, to discuss gem trading business. They met at a luxury hotel on Charoen Krung Road, Yannawa Subdistrict, Sathorn District, Bangkok.
Aamir told him that there were customers interested in the gemstones and that he would take them to show the customers. The merchant then handed over the three gemstones to Aamir. However, Aamir disappeared afterward. The merchant tried to contact him but failed, which led him to file the complaint.
Subsequently, Police Lieutenant General Thiti Saengswang, Commander of the Metropolitan Police Bureau, ordered the investigation team from Yannawa Police Station and the investigation unit of Metropolitan Police Division 6 to check CCTV footage. They found evidence of Aamir calling for a Grab taxi service at the hotel. Immigration checks revealed that Aamir left Thailand at 11:39 a.m. on July 17 on Swiss Air flight LX 181 bound for Switzerland.
The investigating officers will gather evidence to request an arrest warrant.
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