Ayutthaya gold robbery suspect is former local politician

Jon WhitmanPublished: 13:09, 12 November 2022| Updated: 13:44, 12 November 2022

231 1 minute read

Ayutthaya gold robbery suspect is former local politician

Ayutthaya gold robbery suspects involved in the 2-million-baht (US$55,000) raid on a bullion shop at a shopping mall in the Sena district were rounded up by police overnight.

In news which will shock many readers, one of the alleged robbers turns out to be a local politician. Investigators from provincial police region 1 and Ayutthaya police swooped on two of the suspects at around 8.45pm Friday. A third was captured in the early hours of Saturday.

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Further information has been promised at a press conference later today.

The robbery at Yaowarat M Gold at Lotus mall in Sena took place at around 11am on November 4.

One suspect – a former local politician – has already been interrogated as a suspect in other serious crimes, but somehow managed to evade or avoid prosecution. The petty politico was questioned by police about his involvement in drug cases back in 2018. It is not clear why police have declined to name the suspect, as is normal practice in such cases.

Ayutthaya gold robbery suspect is former local politician | News by Thaiger — Police are attempting to retrieve the stolen gold – 39 necklaces weighing a total of roughly 890 grams. Suspects are believed to have already sold their haul outside Ayutthaya city. Eagle-eyed Thaiger regs will be quick to notice that this is not the actual gold taken in the robbery.

A lone assailant jumped over the showcases in the deserted shop and quickly swept gold necklaces and other jewellery from their trays into a shoulder bag. He then ran out of the shop as quickly as he had entered and fled on a motorcycle. The entire robbery took less than one minute.

Pol Maj Gen Pheeraphong Wongsamarn, deputy chief of the provincial police region 1, said that there were plans already in place to search four locations in the district on Saturday in search of further evidence to link the suspects to the robbery.

Jon Whitman

Jon Whitman is a seasoned journalist and author who has been living and working in Asia for more than two decades. Born and raised in Glasgow, Scotland, Jon has been at the forefront of some of the most important stories coming out of China in the past decade. After a long and successful career in East sia, Jon is now semi-retired and living in the Outer Hebrides. He continues to write and is an avid traveller and photographer, documenting his experiences across the world.