Thief’s fiery hand sanitiser ploy nets 1.7 million baht loot from Bangkok gold shop

In a daring solo heist, a robber invaded a gold shop in the Saimai area of Bangkok. Threatening to torch the shop by sprinkling hand sanitiser all around, the brazen thief caused shop staff to scatter, enabling him to pilfer gold worth 1.7 million baht, amounting to 48 baht of gold. The incident happened at 6.50pm yesterday. Bangkok police are prioritising this chase.

Saimai Police Station yesterday at around 6.50pm received a report of a burglary at the Aurora gold shop, located inside the Big C supermarket along Sukhaphiban 5 Road, in the Ornguen district of Saimai, Bangkok. Police Lieutenant Colonel Viroj Boonpol, the Deputy Crime Investigation Officer of Saimai Police Station, and Police Lieutenant Colonel Sanchai Kirirat worked together with the investigation team and the criminal investigation branch to head to the scene.

Upon arriving, they found the staff noticeably distressed. One of the workers described the robber as a stout man, who had donned an all-black attire, complete with a black baseball cap. Acting as a customer, he threatened to torch the shop by sprinkling hand sanitiser all around, which led to the staff retreating in panic. Seizing the opportunity, the thief clambered over the counter, grabbed gold and cash from a drawer and fled the scene, reported KhaoSod.

The robber had managed to steal a variety of gold necklaces with different weights: 16 pieces weighing a quarter baht, 22 pieces weighing one baht, and nine pieces weighing two baht. In addition, approximately 200,000 baht (US$5,700) in cash was taken, summing the total stolen valuables to approximately 48 baht of gold and cash worth 1.7 million baht (US$48,444).

Following the incident, the police have begun their operation to capture the robber. The authorities are looking into the footage recorded by CCTV, which had managed to capture the offender in action. Simultaneously, the police are conducting a thorough investigation at the shop to collect fingerprint evidence to track down the suspect and uphold the law.