Cambodian couple with quick fingers arrested in Samut Prakan

The couple was also found to be living in Thailand illegally.

The Metropolitan Police Bureau announced the arrests of Boy “Bui” Yangha, 31, and his wife Som “Mary” Jean, 27, at a press conference on Sunday. The conference was chaired by the bureau chief Pol Lt-General Thiti Saengsawang.

He said the couple was arrested in front of their rented room at the Sup Asia Apartment on Soi Sukhumvit 111 in Samut Prakan on Saturday.

An undercover police officer reportedly witnessed the couple pickpocketing in Imperial Samrong shopping mall and sent a team after them.

Police have been on the hunt for pickpockets after several shoppers filed complaints about their purses or smartphones being stolen while shopping.

Officers said they have security camera footage showing the couple in action. Apparently one of them would divert the attention of the victim while the other would pick the victim’s pocket. Once the job was complete, the couple would disappear.

The pair has reportedly admitted to sneaking across the natural border in Sa Kaew province early last year and say they have been picking pockets in Bangkok and Samut Prakan to survive. They also allegedly confessed to stealing from more than 100 people.