FRIDAY, March 29, 2024
nationthailand

Bt300,000 reward offered in Bt12m gold shop robbery

Bt300,000 reward offered in Bt12m gold shop robbery

A Bt300,000 reward is being offered for information leading to the arrest of three gunmen who stormed into a gold shop in a Tesco Lotus shopping mall in Chon Buri province on Wednesday evening and made off with gold ornaments worth Bt12 million, weighing 607 baht (around 9 kilograms).

Tamnak Thong 5 gold-shop manager Wisut Kham-ngern, 56, yesterday cited eyewitnesses who said the robbers spoke Thai clearly and with a youthful tone of voice. 
No police were guarding the shop at the time of the robbery due to the local force’s staffing shortage, he said.
Wisut said he couldn’t believe the robbers would dare to rob the store as it was in a high-traffic location in the mall on Sukhumvit Road in Moo 1 village in Tambon Samed, Muang district
Chaiyaporn Kijtrakulrat, 53, the shop owner, filed a request with police for documents to submit for an insurance claim. He confirmed the stolen gold ornaments weighed 607 baht.
Police said the robbery took place at around 7pm. 
Three robbers wore black clothes, gloves, and full-sized crash helmets to conceal their identity, said police.
They went to the front of the shop, where one robber fired a shot to intimidate staff while another member swept all the gold ornaments into a black plastic bag before running out of the shop. 
The whole operation lasted only about a minute and the three fled on two motorcycles, which they had parked at the side of the mall. 
Witnesses saw the three driving their motorcycles towards the Chon Raj Amrung School intersection. 
Police initially said the two motorcycles – identified as a Honda Super X and a Honda MSX – apparently used fake licence plates. They later corrected the information, saying that the licence plates were authentic but placed on the different bikes. 
Further examination of CCTV footage along the route found that the robbers went towards Bang Saen, took a left turn to the Liang Muang Chon Buri Road heading towards Bangkok, before passing through an intersection in front of a Caltex gas station and passing out of CCTV surveillance. 
Chalermkiat and Provincial Police Region 2 deputy chief Pol Lt-General Jitti Rodbangyang joined a meeting yesterday with Chon Buri police to discuss the hunt for the robbers.
Following the meeting, Chalermkiat said the probe had made a lot of progress. 

RELATED
nationthailand