PHUKET - Police are hunting a Russian man who they say broke into a safe at a currency exchange counter and made off with foreign currency worth around 600,000 baht.
The break-in occurred on July 19 at the exchange shop in a department store in tambon Wichit of Muang district on the tourist island, authorities said on Tuesday.
Security video showed a man wearing a dark blue cap, a black long-sleeved jacket with white stripes, black shorts, black-framed glasses and rubber gloves, with a moustache and beard.
The suspect is seen walking into the exchange booth, going straight to the safe and quickly entering the code to open it, before taking the cash and leaving. The entire incident took only a few minutes and the suspect fled quickly, police said.
Investigators have identified the suspect and the Phuket Provincial Court approved an arrest warrant on Monday, the superintendent of the Wichit police station said.
Vitalii Kobin, 47, is wanted on a charge of night-time theft involving the use of a vehicle.
Police said Kobin had overstayed his visa in Thailand since 2025, and is believed to still be in the country.
