Pattaya-
A gang of robbers who Pattaya police say appeared to have mimicked tactics from the blockbuster film series Fast & Furious by using three vehicles to evade detection has been a subject of major investigation following a daring home invasion robbery in Pattaya, Thailand. As of March 1st, five people of interest, mostly foreigners, have been detained and questioned.
The incident occurred in the early hours of February 26, 2026, at a two-storey townhouse in the Chokchai Village 9 housing estate as we covered here. Three suspects, dressed in all-black clothing and wearing hoods to conceal their faces, forced their way into the home of 32-year-old British national Wesleigh Cyril Russell, a chef who works overseas, and his 34-year-old Thai wife. Our original report on this incident is found here.
Armed with knives, the robbers held a blade to Mr. Russell’s neck, demanding the location of cash. They forced the victims, along with a British friend present at the time, into the kitchen, seized two iPhones (models 16 and 14), then proceeded upstairs to locate and remove a safe hidden in a wardrobe in the second-floor bedroom. The safe contained more than 2 million baht (approximately £45,000) in cash, which the couple had recently withdrawn from a bank in preparation for purchasing a house. The gang carried the safe out to a waiting black four-door Ford pickup truck and fled the scene.
Police from Nong Prue Police Station, led by Pol Col Natthaphon Phongsuksakul, along with investigators from Chonburi Provincial Police, Immigration Police, and Tourist Police, launched an intensive probe. Surveillance footage analysis revealed a sophisticated escape plan involving three vehicles to confuse pursuers, similar to high-speed evasion scenes in the Fast & Furious movies.
The initial getaway vehicle was the black Ford pickup used in the robbery. It headed along the railway parallel road before the suspects discarded the victims’ mobile phones near Soi Nong Krabok. The truck then proceeded to Sukhumvit Road, and then turned right toward Wat Boonyakantharam and Jomtien areas.
CCTV captured the gang switching to a white SUV near an apartment in Soi Boonyakantharam 5 around 10:57 p.m., just 8-9 km from the crime scene. They entered the apartment for about five minutes, believed to be the time they cracked open the safe and divided the cash, before departing. At approximately 11:33 p.m., a third suspected Ford four-door pickup arrived to pick up the group, heading toward Chonburi province on the Bang Na-Trat outbound section of Sukhumvit Road.
Investigators suspect the robbery was premeditated and an inside job as we reported here, with the suspects aware of the large cash withdrawal. They believe the suspects may be of the same nationality as the victim (British or foreign) and possibly connected through a cannabis shop in central Pattaya. An inside tip-off is also under consideration.
In a major breakthrough reported on February 28, 2026, police detained three people of interest for questioning at Nong Prue Police Station. One is described as a tall foreign national. Two additional people of interest were also taken into custody, with interrogations ongoing. Authorities have not yet released further details on identities, nationalities, or whether all people of interest have been captured, but they confirmed rapid progress in the case. The people of interest have not yet been formally charged or labeled suspects.
Police continue their investigation, with updates expected as more information becomes available.
