Songkhla man arrested for 5 million baht gold theft after 4-day chase
A man from Songkhla who allegedly stole gold ornaments and bars valued at over 5 million baht from a gold shop in a Pathum Thani shopping mall has been detained in Bangkok following a four-day pursuit.
Thapanas Nookate, a 38 year old resident of Hat Yai, was captured in front of a shopping mall in Bang Khae and subsequently taken to Lam Luk Ka Police Station, according to Police Lieutenant General Akkharadet Pimonsri, assistant national police chief, yesterday, February 8.
The Thanyaburi court had issued an arrest warrant for Thapanas on theft charges. A motorcycle without a licence plate, used during the robbery, was confiscated along with three stolen gold bars and a gold necklace with an amulet, weighing 11 baht (167 grammes) in total.
Surveillance footage depicted Thapanas riding a motorcycle to the Big C superstore in the Bueng Kham Phroi subdistrict of Lam Luk Ka district one day before robbing the Aurora gold shop on the mall’s second floor on February 3.
He escaped with a total of 113-baht weight (1.7 kilogrammes) of gold necklaces and bars, valued at 5.4 million baht (US$159,340). Post-robbery, he abandoned the motorcycle in the Rangsit Prayoonsak canal, located in Khlong Hok of Thanyaburi district.
Police conducted a crime re-enactment with Thapanas at the shop yesterday, February 8.
Pol. Lt. Gen. Akkharadet revealed that the investigation was expanded, leading to the recovery of 52 additional stolen gold necklaces, weighing 50 baht, from the home of Thapanas’s wife. Thapanas had entrusted the remaining stolen gold ornaments to two friends. Police are currently searching for these friends to retrieve the remaining items, reported Bangkok Post.
During questioning, Thapanas confessed to the charges, admitting to surveying the area for three days before executing the robbery.
In similar news, a daring heist unfolded on December 31 last year, at a gold shop within Phra Pradaeng Market, Samut Prakan, when a suspect armed with a fake gun executed a robbery, stabbing the shop owner amid morning shoppers. Police are now in pursuit of the culprit.
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