A SURGE in robberies is causing concern among police all over Phuket, with brazen daylight thefts now also being committed.

Local police in Chalong, Kamala, Phuket City, Chern Thalay, Kathu, Tungthong and Tatchatchai have individually all confirmed the rise in crime to Phuketwan.

The thieves target anything that can be removed quickly and sold, with laptop computers and mobile telephones high on their list of desirable items, plus musical instruments and electronic equipment, including large-screen television sets.

Quick sales usually take place in local neighborhoods, with top-brand laptop computers being offered to buyers for as little as 5000 baht, Phuketwan has learned.

In one brazen heist recently at a Phuket City travel business, five laptop computers went missing soon after the staff at the company all headed off to lunch at noon.

Security firms are one of the few business sectors on the island reporting a boom in trade as the economic downturn crunches home.

One Phuketwan reader reported repetitive break-ins at a tourist resort in Kamala, where 50 police are stationed, compared to 200 officers at Chalong.

Another major series of break-ins occurred recently at high-end houses and villas in the Laguna-Layan region, one of the island's most prestigious residential districts.

The suspects hauled in by police turned out to be construction contractors.

Police verified a security company's incident report that listed nine break-ins at homes around the Layan-Laguna area.

While the first was in September last year, there were three in February and a series of four between March 2 and March 9.

The break-ins took place between 2am and 4am but the report did not make clear whether people were in the houses at the time.

One of the alleged thieves was captured by police in the early morning on March 14.

When the thieves confessed, they admitted inside knowledge - because they worked in the daytime as contractors.

Photos with the incident report show two suspects being questioned, a large collection of copy keys, pawn shop receipts for computer notebooks and watches, police recovering two safes from a canal, a large stolen home theatre, and the suspects reenacting their alleged crimes.

''We would strongly recommend that our customers change locks,'' the security report concluded. Fences need to be tall and solid, it said.

Alarm systems are also advised in the report.