Police have arrested a suspected serial killer who allegedly murdered at least four pickup truck owners and then stole their vehicles to sell on to a gang.
Crime Suppression Division (CSD) officers arrested Nirut Sonkhamhan, 43, also known as Chamlong, of Songkhla province, at an apartment in tambon Om Yai of Sam Phran district in Nakhon Pathom on Monday.
Police also seized a bottle of powdered pesticide, a mobile phone, and 17,600 baht in cash from the suspect.
The CSD started its hunt for the man after receiving complaints about the disappearances of several pickup truck drivers in Prachuap Khiri Khan, Chumphon and Surat Thani provinces.
Police identified the suspect in surveillance camera footage from petrol stations. CSD commander Supisan Phakdinaruenat said Mr Nirut hired pickup truck drivers and poisoned drinks that he bought for them from convenience stores at the petrol stations.
After the victims fell unconscious, Mr Nirut dropped their bodies by the roadside, stole their pickup trucks and valuables and sold the vehicles to a gang in Hat Yai district of Songkhla province, Pol Maj Gen Supisan said.
The murders apparently started in January last year and continued until April 9 this year. Nine pickup truck owners were known to have been targeted. Four of them were killed by poisoning, while three survived and two remain missing.
Pol Maj Gen Supisan said he had ordered his officers to conduct further investigations to locate the two missing persons and to arrest members of the Hat Yai gang as soon as possible.
One of the victims was a 67-year-old woman who was murdered in Kalasin province in January last year.
Mr Nirut allegedly tied her body to a rock and sank it in the reservoir of the Lampao dam in Nong Kung Si district of Kalasin.
The suspected killer allegedly said he chose victims from their phone numbers posted in public places offering pickup truck services.
The suspect tried to hang himself in a prison cell at the CSD on Monday but the wire that he took from an adjacent cell for the purpose snapped.
Crime Suppression Division (CSD) officers arrested Nirut Sonkhamhan, 43, also known as Chamlong, of Songkhla province, at an apartment in tambon Om Yai of Sam Phran district in Nakhon Pathom on Monday.
Police also seized a bottle of powdered pesticide, a mobile phone, and 17,600 baht in cash from the suspect.
The CSD started its hunt for the man after receiving complaints about the disappearances of several pickup truck drivers in Prachuap Khiri Khan, Chumphon and Surat Thani provinces.
Police identified the suspect in surveillance camera footage from petrol stations. CSD commander Supisan Phakdinaruenat said Mr Nirut hired pickup truck drivers and poisoned drinks that he bought for them from convenience stores at the petrol stations.
After the victims fell unconscious, Mr Nirut dropped their bodies by the roadside, stole their pickup trucks and valuables and sold the vehicles to a gang in Hat Yai district of Songkhla province, Pol Maj Gen Supisan said.
The murders apparently started in January last year and continued until April 9 this year. Nine pickup truck owners were known to have been targeted. Four of them were killed by poisoning, while three survived and two remain missing.
Pol Maj Gen Supisan said he had ordered his officers to conduct further investigations to locate the two missing persons and to arrest members of the Hat Yai gang as soon as possible.
One of the victims was a 67-year-old woman who was murdered in Kalasin province in January last year.
Mr Nirut allegedly tied her body to a rock and sank it in the reservoir of the Lampao dam in Nong Kung Si district of Kalasin.
The suspected killer allegedly said he chose victims from their phone numbers posted in public places offering pickup truck services.
The suspect tried to hang himself in a prison cell at the CSD on Monday but the wire that he took from an adjacent cell for the purpose snapped.
