PHUKET: Your mobile telephone is likely to work better on Phuket from now on - today police nabbed a pair of thieves who admitted stealing scores of batteries from the satellite towers that boost Phuket mobile telephone signals.
DTAC, CAT, AIS, Telecom - 32-year-old Adisak Yorddee confessed to Phuket police today that he had been stealing all their batteries with his 16-year-old assistant, who as a minor cannot be named, for a long time.
When police learned from the mobile telephone companies that mobile signals had been failing because of the stolen batteries, officers spread the word among Phuket's second-hand stores.
''Tip us off when you see these batteries,'' the officers told the shop owners. ''We will really appreciate it.''
Sure enough, the call came about 6pm this evening from a secondhand store in Thalang, central Phuket, and soon after, police nabbed Khun Adisak, his young assistant, and a total of 31 large batteries.
They also seized Khun Adisak's essential equipment - a set of wire cutters for getting through protective netting and a motorcycle with sidecar.
Khun Adisak confessed a bit later at Thalang Police Station, telling officers he sold the large batteries for 18 to 25 baht a kilo, meaning that a big haul of batteries would bring him 2500 baht to 3000 baht.
"I give the money to my wife and children,'' Khun Adisak, who lives in Thalang, told police. His assistant comes from Paklok, in eastern Phuket.
Better security is likely around the telephone towers from now on.
DTAC, CAT, AIS, Telecom - 32-year-old Adisak Yorddee confessed to Phuket police today that he had been stealing all their batteries with his 16-year-old assistant, who as a minor cannot be named, for a long time.
When police learned from the mobile telephone companies that mobile signals had been failing because of the stolen batteries, officers spread the word among Phuket's second-hand stores.
''Tip us off when you see these batteries,'' the officers told the shop owners. ''We will really appreciate it.''
Sure enough, the call came about 6pm this evening from a secondhand store in Thalang, central Phuket, and soon after, police nabbed Khun Adisak, his young assistant, and a total of 31 large batteries.
They also seized Khun Adisak's essential equipment - a set of wire cutters for getting through protective netting and a motorcycle with sidecar.
Khun Adisak confessed a bit later at Thalang Police Station, telling officers he sold the large batteries for 18 to 25 baht a kilo, meaning that a big haul of batteries would bring him 2500 baht to 3000 baht.
"I give the money to my wife and children,'' Khun Adisak, who lives in Thalang, told police. His assistant comes from Paklok, in eastern Phuket.
Better security is likely around the telephone towers from now on.
