Russian national Rustam Shambasov, 29, entered Thailand on July 14 and was captured on surveillance camera while allegedly stealing the money that month. He allegedly left the country on August 1, Panya said.

An arrest warrant for Shambasov was issued by Phuket Court over charges of forgery, fraud and theft using fake electronic cards. The statute of limitations for the warrants is 15 years, Panya said.

Police is also gathering evidence to issue an arrest warrant for one of another two foreigners, he said.

Panya added that Shambasov and the two others were allegedly linked to the Bt12-million heist as well as the hacking of GSB ATMs in Phang-Nga province in March for another Bt4.5 million.

Investigation has not found any state officials, bank staff or members of a Phuket car rental company involved, he added.

Panya said GSB lost Bt4.5 million in the Phang Nga hack, but previously thought it was an inside job and did not report it to police until more than three weeks later.

Police are reviewing surveillance camera footage of three suspects, including one whose face is seen clearly, as well as tracing a vehicle driven by the suspects, who are believed to be eastern Europeans.

Panya said the March theft was like hacks at 21 GSB ATMs in Bangkok, Phuket and elsewhere because suspects used the same electronic cards to steal cash from vulnerable ATMs disabled by malware or computer viruses.

Immigration police are examining records of eastern Europeans, especially people from Russia, Romania and Latvia, who are suspected of being involved in the crimes.

Meanwhile, a GSB executive said the bank’s ATM vendor – NCR (Thailand) – had developed a program that could protect cash machines from malware like that which previously affected the ATMs.

NCR was ready to deliver the software to the bank, GSB chief executive officer Chatchai Payuhanaveechai said.

He said NCR had 60 teams ready to install the program at the bank’s ATMs around the country, at a rate of 200 ATMs per day.

Chatchai said GSB planned that all ATMs affected by malware, which have been offline temporarily, would be operational by next month. NCR also plans to distribute the anti-malware software to its other customers around the world.

GSB recently shut down more than 3,000 ATMs in six provinces after many were found to have been infected by malware, while the bank sought technical help from NCR.

Pol General Panya Mamen, a senior adviser to the National Police, said yesterday that five of 25 suspects, including several eastern Europeans, may have left the country but returned to Thailand after stealing Bt12.29 million last month from 21 ATMs installed by |the Government Savings Bank (GSB).

The theft was discovered earlier this month.

Immigration police in Sa Kaew, a province bordering Cambodia, said they had been vigilant screening foreigners and Thai citizens leaving the country based on sketches of suspects provided by investigators.

Describing the theft as the first of its kind in Thailand, Panya said investigators had been working on the case for more than a week and had already obtained evidence |about the identities of key Thai and foreign suspects believed to belong to the same criminal gang that recently stole money from ATMs in Taiwan.

Of the suspects, five unnamed east Europeans have immigration records showing they have entered Thailand previously and are believed to have Thai accomplices who stole money from ATMS in Surat Thani, Chumphon, Phuket, Prachuap |Khiri Khan, Phetchaburi and Bangkok.

The GSB has reviewed the security of its ATMs, including about 200 units that were feared to have been infected with malware by the suspects.

Infected ATMs could dispense cash without authorisation, but the process would take time so passers-by who noticed unusual activities around ATMs in public places should report them to police, he said.

“One ATM in Phetchaburi dispensed as much as Bt1 million while others allowed unauthorised cash withdrawals of tens of thousands of baht each time.

“However, the public should not panic because the money is not owned by bank customers, so the banks themselves have to be responsible for the stolen money.

“Banks have cooperated to prevent a repeat of the incidents,” he said.

The ATM hack is understood to have been carried out between July 7 and 30 of this year but the GSB only discovered the problem earlier this month after bank officials counted the cash balance in the infected ATMs, he said.

Police are gathering evidence to seek arrest warrants for the suspects, who have been linked to vehicles and accommodations.

The Nation yesterday contacted NCR (Thailand), the supplier of GSB’s ATMs, by telephone and the managing director said the company was discussing the matter and would soon provide a detailed statement at a press conference.

Police identified the suspect as Mahammad Rumzan, 57. He was also known as ‘Johnny Painter’ and worked in disguise as a portrait painter on Sukhumwit in Bangkok.

Rumzan appeared yesterday at a press conference along with 92 traveller’s cheques worth Bt270,000, plus 40 fake passports for 12 European countries, 20 fake visa stamps, 91 fake visa stickers and some forgery tools.

Immigration Police chief Pol Lt General Natthorn Phrosunthorn said Rumzan was nabbed in Don Muang district last Friday while allegedly delivering a forged passport to a customer. A search of his bag by police found: four French and two Israeli passports, four of which were reported stolen. A search at his apartment also revealed more evidence.

Natthorn said the suspect also worked as binder for falsified |passports allegedly supplied to |the Doctor’s network at Bt2,000 to Bt3,000 per passport. “The Doctor,” whose real name is Hamid Reza Jafary, was nabbed on February 8 in Chachoengsao.

Police expanded the investigation after Jafary’s arrest and found Rumzan. Rumzan however claimed to be forced into the illegal activity by his ‘boss’ whom he did not identify.

The gang was allegedly trying to move illicit drugs worth Bt4 billion – or far more overseas – from northern Thailand to the Malaysian town of Butterworth.

One suspect, Malaysian Ngo Kien Yew, reportedly admitted to police that he was the gang leader, Central Investigation Bureau chief Pol Lt-General Thitiraj Nongharnpitak told the press yesterday. The gang was using the train because it was seen as less risky than cars, which have to go through checkpoints on the way, he said.

Following a tip, Railway Police closely watched the No 35 international train going from Bangkok to Padang Besar and made an initial arrest at 5pm on Wednesday, taking in two suspects – Muhammad Aisamuddin Bin Abd Razak and Mazenesam Bin Manap – who were found in possession of 34kg of “ice” and some heroin.

The duo was taken off the train at Ratchaburi Station.

Police then nabbed three accomplices – Kamaludin Bin Sarju, Nabil Syafiq Bin Kamal and Idris Syarif Bin Syarifuddin – along with 23kg of “ice” – and pulled them off at Hua Hin Station.

Subsequent searches on the same train saw police arrest a further seven alleged “drug mules” – Kenny Lim Wei Liang, Woon Ming Sheng, Tan Chat Phem, Yap Chun Man, Ngor Kien Yew, Liew Pow Swee, and Seah Chin Wee – along with 74 kg of “ice”. They were taken off at Prachuap Khiri Khan Station.

A further 51kg of “ice” and 4.8kg of heroin were seized and removed from the train at Chumphon Station.

Three more suspects – Wong Kah Seng, Loo Chee Aik and Ho Wai Hai – were allegedly found with 44kg of “ice” and taken off at Surat Thani Station.

All 15 suspects are facing charges of being in possession of Category 1 illicit drugs – “ice” and heroin.

CIB chief Thitiraj said it was the largest drug bust in three years, with the gang moving the drugs from Chiang Mai – where they initially gathered from March 14 – to Bangkok, before getting on the train to the South and Malaysia.

Police are now looking for Thai accomplices. The suspects reportedly gave confusing statements to police, with some claiming they were hired to transport a package for Bt5,000 without knowing what was inside, he said.

In a separate case, a 150-strong team of combined security officers including US Drug Enforcement Administration agents raided 14 locations in Chiang Mai yesterday to seize assets – two houses and one shop that rents motorcycles, plus 47 motorbikes – worth almost Bt100 million from the “Meunjada” drug ring.

The gang is reportedly led by Weera Meunjada, the son-in-law of Wa Army Colonel Jalorbo, Narcotics Suppression Bureau chief Pol Lt-General Rewat Klinkesorn said.

Thai authorities have intercepted at least 2 million ‘yaba’ pills allegedly smuggled by Weera’s gang in recent years, which, he said, had many members including dealers in Bangkok and nearby provinces.

Although his younger brother had been captured by Thai police, Weera has so far evaded arrest, as he resides in the Myanmar border area with his wife.

Rewat said police tried to get Jalorbo – who insists he has nothing to do with drug trafficking – to hand over Weera to prove his innocence.