SURAT THANI — The police say they have arrested a Briton who allegedly took off with nearly 179,000 baht in an armed robbery of a convenience store on Koh Samui island last week.
Mark Kerby (name transcribed from Thai text) was arrested at around 2:00 a.m. at a bar in Bo Put district following a tip-off from staff at the bar that recognized his face from the CCTV footage provided by the police.
According to witnesses, Mr. Kerby was the same man who robbed a Family Mart store with a handgun on 28 April and took away 178,350 baht in cash before fleeing in a car with a covered license plate.
Police reports indicate that Mr. Kerby arrived in Thailand on a tourist visa last November and has been residing in an apartment in Bo Put district on Koh Samui island.
Pol.Col. Satit Prom-utai, the chief of Bo Put Police Station, said a police search at Mr. Kerby's residence turned up several rounds of .22 bullets, a pair of sunglasses, and an electric hair clipper; Pol.Col. Satit claimed that sunglasses match the pair worn by the suspect seen in the CCTV footage, and that Mr. Kerby has shaved his hair after the robbery.
The police did not find the car Mr. Kerby allegedly used in the robbery at his residence because he had already returned the car to the rental office, Pol.Col. Satit claimed.
Staff at the car rental office and the robbed Family Mart store similarly confirmed to police that Mr. Kerby was the robber, Pol.Col. Satit added.
Mr. Kerby admitted to the police that he was at the convenience store on the day of the robbery, but insisted that he went there to buy a mobile phone SIM card.
Mr. Kerby also denied the allegation that he robbed the store's cashiers.
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