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.