PATTAYA, THAILAND — CCTV footage have led to the arrest of a 31-year-old British national, identified publicly by Pattaya police as Mr. Jordan Ezra, following two separate robbery incidents in Pattaya City. The crimes, which involved the theft of gold necklaces valued at 200,000 baht each, had both taken place in the past several days. Mr. Ezra, however, has claimed he is bipolar and has memory loss problems and as a result is denying involvement as of press time.
The first incident took place on December 8th at approximately 10:00 p.m. in Soi Buakhao in South Pattaya. A tall, masked foreign-looking individual approached Mr. Maziyar Dezfooli, a 33-year-old Iranian tourist, from behind, snatching his gold necklace before escaping on a blue Honda Click motorcycle with an unknown license plate. Despite attempts to chase the thief, Mr. Dezfooli was unable to retrieve his property.
Five days later, on December 12 at 12:05 a.m., another robbery was captured on CCTV near Soi Yensabai on Pattaya South Road. This time, two suspects on the same type of motorcycle accosted Mr. Merlin Meshak Dhanapalan, a 42-year-old Indian national. The assault involved punches before the theft of another gold necklace. The motorcycle lost control during the escape, forcing one of the robbers to abandon it momentarily, but both managed to flee the scene. The video of the incident is below.https://youtu.be/5uCGFnawsRY
Following these incidents, both victims reported the crimes to the Pattaya City Police Station. Pol. Col. Nawin Thirawit, the station chief, instructed Pol. Lt. Col. Thananon Athipansee to lead the investigation. The police reviewed footage from over 40 CCTV cameras around the crime scenes and along the escape routes, identifying the suspects as likely non-Thai, possibly European, due to their height and build.
The breakthrough came today, December 13th, at 5:00 p.m. when Pol. Lt. Col. Thananon Athipansee, with the aid of a court-issued warrant, arrested Mr. Jordan Ezra at his residence in Moo 2 in Bangsaray. Ezra, who entered Thailand on a 60-day tourist visa, was charged with robbery at night using a vehicle to aid in the crime, causing physical or mental harm to others.
However, during interrogation, Ezra denied all charges, claiming he suffers from bipolar disorder and has a “short memory,” stating he could not remember the events in question. Despite these claims, the police remain confident in their ability to prosecute due to solid CCTV and evidence allegedly linking Mr. Ezra to the crime, and efforts are ongoing to locate the second suspect still at large.
