For decades unwary farangs have been scammed by the jewelry touts of Bangkok. Westerners are steered to these infamous jewelry stores by taxi or tuk-tuk drivers hanging around the more popular tourist destinations. Once inside the premises the victims are plied with alcohol and seduced by the lure of easy money from transporting gems back to their home countries. Most discover the deception of the shopkeepers upon return home, where they are told that their purchases are worth a fraction of their declared value. A few realize their mistake the next day and complain to the tourist police. Only a rare tourist ever gets their money back, so it was nice to see in the newspaper that a trio of foreign bandits had robbed the Bangkok Gems and Jewelery Fair for $1.6 million.
The three thieves got as far as Chonburi where they were arrested by Pattaya police.
The newspapers reported that the leading clue was three suspicious men renting a car.
Another case of hard-nosed Thai police tactics reaping justice.