Armed gang robs gold shop in Narathiwat mall, steals 6 kilograms of gold
A 10-man gang stormed a shopping mall in Su-ngai Kolok, Narathiwat, on Sunday evening, seizing gold worth over 400 baht-weight before fleeing in pickup trucks.
Authorities in Narathiwat are investigating a daring armed robbery at a well-known shopping mall in Su-ngai Kolok district, where about 10 masked men dressed in black stormed a gold shop on Sunday evening (October 5).
According to the Narathiwat Public Relations Office, the suspects arrived in two pickup trucks around 6.30pm. Some of them stayed in the vehicles while others rushed inside the mall, overpowering security guards before storming a gold shop.
Armed with unidentified weapons, they threatened staff and seized gold ornaments from display cases, worth an estimated 400 baht-weight (approximately 6 kilograms), before fleeing to their waiting vehicles.
During their escape, the robbers scattered tyre-puncturing spikes and placed two suspicious objects along their getaway route, one at the mall’s U-turn junction and another at the Orkarn intersection. Authorities temporarily sealed off both inbound and outbound lanes to investigate and remove the suspicious items.
Two people were reported injured. A 27-year-old man suffered gunshot wounds to the neck, chest and leg from a ricocheting bullet and was taken to the hospital, where his condition was later declared stable. A 30-year-old man, who was briefly held hostage by the assailants, was treated for shock.
Royal Thai Army spokesman Maj Gen Winthai Suvaree said the Internal Security Operations Command Region 4 (Front) had deployed all security agencies in the area to track down the perpetrators and bring them to justice swiftly.
Initial investigations suggested the robbers had planned the heist in advance, including the theft of two pickup trucks used in the operation, a silver Isuzu D-Max (registration number กค 6521 Narathiwat) and a silver pickup (registration number บท 7187 Pattani).
Authorities also discovered additional explosive devices and spikes scattered along the group’s escape route, including an improvised explosive device (IED) near the mall’s U-turn and spikes on Ban Toh Lue Be Road in Su-ngai Kolok district, believed to have been intended to slow down pursuing officers.
The army urged residents to follow official updates closely for their safety and to immediately report any information or sightings related to the suspects to the Internal Security Operations Command Region 4 hotline.
