Malaysian police representatives also took the suspect’s fingerprints for comparison with evidence related to at least 10 other theft and murder cases in both countries. The cases include the burglary of a Butterworth shop in which gold jewellery worth 6.4 million ringgit (Bt51 million) was stolen.

Investigator Pol Colonel Surapong Kittithirangkoon said the suspect, arrested at a Hat Yai rented house on Tuesday, would be prosecuted for the Hat Yai robbery and the November 22, 2014, murder of two men from Songkhla. The suspect has reportedly confessed to both crimes.