Su-ngai kolok: EOD officers and forensic officers inspected suspicious objects and evidence at the scene of a gold robbery at a well-known department store in Su-ngai Kolok, Narathiwat Province. Initial reports indicate that over 600 baht worth of gold was stolen. Two suspicious vehicles were recently discovered in Kayukla Subdistrict, Waeng District, blocking off the area for inspection.
According to Thai News Agency, CCTV footage from the security guard post at the Su-ngai Kolok branch of the shopping mall in Narathiwat Province captured the attack. Seven assailants, dressed in black and armed with firearms, approached a security guard at the vehicle inspection post and used their weapons to threaten and force them into the parking lot. The assailants then dispersed and entered through the second entrance on the right-hand side of the mall. They walked in unconcernedly, armed with firearms, clearly visible to a number of locals. The assailants then proceeded to a gold shop, smashed a glass display case with the butt of their guns, and fled in droves, stealing gold jewelry.
The incident occurred at 6 p.m. yesterday. At the time of the incident, a special forces soldier was shopping in the mall and happened to see the incident. Sergeant Major Burisorn Radachai, a light weapons sergeant from the 408th Military Police Battalion, exchanged fire with the assailant to stop the incident. However, he was shot in the right shoulder and grazed the cheek by the assailant, totaling three bullets, and was injured.
After the robbery, the perpetrator fled in a pickup truck, leaving a suspicious object, a cooking gas tank, on the road in front of the U-turn and scattering nails on the road, causing damage to several villagers’ cars. Officials had to close the road.
About half an hour after the robbery, an explosion occurred on Masjid Road at Arkan Intersection, about 500 meters from the shopping mall where the incident occurred, but no one was injured.
Investigations revealed that at 5:20 PM on the same day, a group of assailants dressed in black and armed to the teeth broke into a house in Su-ngai Padi District, Narathiwat Province, and robbed two pickup trucks. They then used the vehicles to later rob a gold shop.
The two vehicles consisted of a silver-bronze Isuzu D-Max with Narathiwat license plates and a grey Toyota Vigo with Pattani license plates. Initially, it was believed that the perpetrators consisted of at least 10 people, divided into three groups: the car robbery group, the gold robbery group, and the group that scattered nails and set off bombs to prevent authorities from pursuing them. After the incident, it is believed that the perpetrators fled through a route in Sakor Subdistrict, Waeng District, heading out a natural route to cross into Malaysia.
This morning, the Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) unit, along with forensic investigators and other relevant officials, inspected the scene to collect DNA and fingerprints for any remaining suspicious objects. They also thoroughly questioned security guards and gold shop employees. Initial estimates suggest the value of the stolen gold jewelry is approximately 600 baht out of the approximately 800 baht total. Security forces have ordered all units in the southern border provinces to establish checkpoints and blockades along all routes, and are coordinating with security forces in neighboring countries to block escape routes.
Images and information about the two stolen pickup trucks have been released. The public is asked to call the 24-hour hotline 1341 or 191 if they have any information.