Four British Men Arrested In Thailand For Armed Robbery And Home Invasion

Is there a dumber idea than committing armed robbery and home invasion in Thailand as a tourist? Surely it’s not worth the risk of being banged up in a Thai prison, as opposed to the comparatively lenient and more ‘comfortable’ time you’d serve back home.

Well, four British men decided it would be worth the risk and robbed a fellow Brit in Pattaya, Thailand, and will now presumably be thrown into a Thai prison and forgotten about.

Meet Christopher Erunse, 38, Brandon Tyler Garrett, 28, Jermaine Lewis Palmer, 20, and Michael Campbell Chapman Tiehoule Jr., 32, ..

The four men stormed the Pattaya villa of fellow British tourist Wesleigh Cyril Russell, 32, last Thursday, while he was having dinner with his Thai wife and friends, held the group at knifepoint and forced them into the kitchen.

They reportedly grabbed an iPhone 16 and an iPhone 14 before making off with a safe said to contain more than two million baht – around £50,000.

They then rammed through the gates as they made their escape, split up, and scattered around Thailand in a bid to evade arrest.

Well that didn’t quite work out because a week later, Thai police have managed to capture them all; Palmer while he was at an immigration checkpoint trying to flee to Malaysia, Erunse at Don Mueang International Airport, Tiehoule Jr. at his girlfriend’s parents house in Buriram province, and Garrett at a rented home in Chonburi.

The suspects were described as “carefree and unstressed” as they joked around with police while being taken to Pattaya City Provincial Court, so that’s nice.

All four have denied the accusations, with Thai police now testing DNA and fingerprint samples.

A spokesman for the Nong Prue district station said: “Currently, authorities have seized several items of evidence, including the vehicle used in the crime. The clothing worn on the day of the incident, along with some cash, are currently under investigation to further prosecute those involved decisively.”

Again, just an extremely dumb idea to commit these sorts of crimes in a country that will make an example out of literally anyone, and especially tourists. They must have known their victim had a safe with two million baht in it – maybe they were all known to him? Which would make the whole thing even dumber, of course.

The investigation continues…

For the British lad who claims he was ‘set up’ after a bag of cocaine fell out of his passport in Thailand, click HERE. If you say so, mate.