Chinese tourist arrested at airport for ‘credit card thefts of sleeping passengers mid-flight’

A Chinese tourist was arrested in Thailand for allegedly stealing credit cards from plane passengers as they slept on a flight. Zheng Yu Qiang, 51, allegedly pretended to search his own belongings as he rifled through other people's bags in the overhead compartment while they were napping. He is believed to have used a portable card reader as transactions were processed within minutes of landing. The stolen money was reportedly transferred through WeChat and AliPay, with a portion used to for football betting. Police launched an investigation after two passengers at the Don Mueang International Airport in Bangkok reported missing belongings and suspicious credit card transactions within days of each other. On October 5, a passenger travelling from Chiang Rai to Bangkok received bank alerts shortly after landing, showing that 62,000 HKD had been siphoned out of their account. The transactions were allegedly processed in Guangdong, China. Just two days later, another passenger arriving from Chiang Mai discovered that 25,000 baht in cash and a credit card had disappeared from a shoulder bag stored in an overhead compartment. The missing card was later used in transactions worth 5,500 CNY. The alleged victim's friend told police they had seen a Chinese man rummaging through the overhead luggage during the flight. Footage submitted to investigators shows Zheng searching through bags in the overhead compartment while other passengers rested. Cops then checked passenger records and discovered that Zheng had travelled on both flights. They coordinated with tourist police and airport authorities to arrest him upon his return to the airport on October 12. The suspect was arrested as he stepped off a domestic flight. Police detained him under a Criminal Court warrant for 'theft at an airport' and 'unauthorised use of another person's electronic card'. Officials believe Zheng had brought a handheld point-of-sale device onboard. Police Lieutenant Colonel Amnart Chamchaem, deputy superintendent of the Don Mueang district station, said: 'We believe the suspect carried the card reader in his carry-on bag onto the plane, and after obtaining the card, passed the device to an accomplice to avoid being checked.' A review of Zheng's travel history found he had entered and left Thailand 37 times through the Don Mueang and Suvarnabhumi airports since late 2024. Officers also found searches on his phone related to credit card payment terminals. Zheng denied the allegations, claiming he had travelled alone and was staying in Bangkok's Huai Khwang area. But police suspect the operation involves a wider transnational network. Police Major General Thanongsil Maneechot, commander of Metropolitan Police Region 2, said: ‘During the interrogation, the suspect denied the allegations, claiming that he had travelled alone for tourism and lived in Huai Khwang district. ‘However, we have strong evidence and are confident that this operation is being run by a major criminal ring. ‘We will conduct further investigations to track down and arrest the remaining accomplices for prosecution.'