Cops bust whiteware theft ring Police yesterday arrested a 34-year-old former businessman who has been linked to a string of thefts of kitchen and home appliances from a supermarket chain. Thanarit Sridaphan, of Pathum Thani, was nabbed at a petrol station in Pathum Thani's Thanyaburi district yesterday, three days after the Saraburi provincial court approved a warrant for his arrest. Mr Thanarit was accused, along with two others, of stealing appliances from several branches of the Tesco Lotus supermarket chain. The latest strike was in Saraburi. Disguising himself as a staff member of a home appliance supplier, Mr Thanarit falsified documents which allowed him to take appliances out of the store"for maintenance" The stolen appliances ranging from ovens to stainless steel food cabinets were sold to second-hand stores or posted for sale on the internet, police said. Police said Mr Thanarit previously owned an air conditioning repair service company and was contracted to provide services at several department stores where he learned about their paperwork procedures. He exploited that knowledge to execute the thefts. After losing his money in another con tracting business, the suspect recruited two other men and started to recoup his fortune by stealing from the stores he had done business with, police said Mr Thanarit told police he targeted the Tesco Lotus chain because he was familiar with its procedures and paperwork.