Police Arrest Four Over Copper Wire Theft Spree
Police arrested four suspects in Chanthaburi after they stole copper wire from a temple and homes, causing over 160,000 baht in damage. The gang confessed to targeting power cables to fund their methamphetamine habit.
On September 19, police from Muang Chanthaburi Station arrested Decha, 31, from Ban Grod District in Buriram Province, along with his girlfriend and a female accomplice. Officers found the suspects hiding in a rental room in Ta Chang Subdistrict, Muang Chanthaburi, with large quantities of stripped copper wire ready for sale, wire-cutting tools, 0.31 grams of methamphetamine, and drug paraphernalia.
The gang had cut power cables from the control box at Khong Sanam Pao Temple in Ta Chang, then roamed the neighborhood stealing cables from homes and coffee shops, causing serious disruption to residents. Officers escorted Decha to re-enact the crimes as angry victims gathered, but police blocked residents from approaching him.
Under questioning, Decha confessed that after recently moving to Chanthaburi, he had ridden a motorcycle searching for power cables to steal day and night, especially at quiet temples. Once stripped, he and his girlfriend sold the copper to secondhand dealers, splitting the proceeds to buy and use methamphetamine. The temple alone suffered over 60,000 baht in damage, while community members lost nearly 100,000 baht more.
Local residents believe the suspects, seemingly bound by karmic debt, showed no fear of spirits or consequences—so bold they returned to steal electrical and air-compressor cables in broad daylight from behind the cremation pavilion. CCTV footage clearly showed the perpetrators committing the daytime theft calmly, enabling police to track and arrest them. Authorities have charged them with unlawful possession of Category 1 methamphetamine and gang theft using vehicles at night.
