Four Chinese men were arrested for allegedly stealing a Canadian woman's safe in Thailand.

The suspects reportedly broke into the empty house at a luxury housing estate in Nonthaburi on the outskirts of Bangkok on July 26.

They were said to have stolen valuables worth 1.6 million baht (37,000 GBP) before police arrested them at a rented house in the Lat Krabang district on Tuesday.

The heist was discovered after Canadian homeowner Julie Beeton, 49, returned from her 10-day vacation on 'White Lotus Island' Koh Samui on July 30, only to find that the property had been ransacked and the safe in her home office was missing.

Police said they tracked down and arrested the Chinese suspects using CCTV footage that captured their escape route. The men allegedly fled on motorcycles, switching vehicles midway as they made their way home.

Officers seized some of the missing cash in various currencies, two TAG Heuer watches, documents, as well as tools like power drills, ladders, ropes and cutters believed to have been used by the alleged burglary gang.

The suspects were named by police as Liu Laixiang, 35, Ya Zujiang, 50, Li Fei, 34, and Wei Qingyou, 37.

Police Major General Kitthanet Thananantaweesiln, Nonthaburi Provincial Police Commander, said: ‘The group of suspects were all Chinese and chose to commit the crime in the luxury housing estate.

‘They would check for signs of occupancy, such as whether the air conditioner was turned on, before entering.

‘We retrieved evidence from their clothes and motorcycles, and returned two luxury watches and banknotes in multiple currencies to the victim.

‘However, we have still not been able to track down all the stolen goods, with the total damage amounting to around 1.6 million baht.

‘The suspects also committed crimes in multiple areas, so we will be expanding our investigation. As for their motive, we interrogated the four suspects, but they refused to cooperate.'

Police Major General Worachat Saenkham, commander of the Investigation Division of Provincial Police Region 1, added: ‘The suspects prepared lockpicking tools and burglary tools to climb houses with tall fences. They carefully plotted to avoid directly entering the targeted homes.

‘After receiving a report, their neighbours cooperated resulting in a quicker arrest.

‘We found that one of them entered the country illegally, and another entered legally but has a previous criminal record for theft in China.'

Police Lieutenant Colonel Suriya Phuangsombat of the Investigation Division of Provincial Police Region 1 said: ‘All suspects entered the country through Cambodia and Laos. One of them does not possess a passport and entered illegally.

‘We are preparing to revoke the visas of those who entered the country legally and prosecute those who entered the country illegally for theft and illegal entry.'

The suspects face charges of nighttime burglary, illegal entry, use of a vehicle to facilitate theft, and possession of stolen property.