Thief steals gold worth 7.8 million baht in Ayutthaya heist
A lone thief armed with a gun stole gold worth over 7 million baht in under a minute at a shopping mall in Phra Nakhon Si Ayutthaya. The incident occurred at 6.30pm yesterday, March 23.
The deputy investigator at Phra In Racha Police Station received a report about the armed robbery at a gold store located within a shopping mall in Bang Pa-in district. The thief fled the scene, prompting an immediate response from police, forensic, and investigative officers.
At the scene, employees were visibly shaken while assessing the remaining gold inventory. Forensic officers collected fingerprints and DNA evidence from the gold display case. CCTV footage revealed the suspect as a man approximately 170 centimetres tall, wearing a green hat with a sunshade, a black jacket, grey trousers, and black sneakers.
He carried a white cloth bag in his right hand and approached the store from the mall’s entrance. Displaying a gun from his waistband, he threatened staff to fill his bag with gold jewellery from the showcase before calmly exiting the mall within a minute.
The stolen items included three 20-baht gold necklaces, two 15-baht necklaces, and seven 10-baht necklaces, totalling about 160 baht in weight, valued at approximately 7.8 million baht. A female employee recounted that she was behind the counter when the thief approached, brandishing a gun and demanding the gold.
After collecting the jewellery, the thief exited and fled on a motorbike taxi. A mall employee who was nearby collecting shopping carts heard someone shout about the robbery and attempted to pursue the thief.
However, when the thief brandished his weapon, the employee sought cover and observed the thief escape on the motorbike taxi. Fortunately, no shots were fired.
Police stated that initial investigations and CCTV footage confirmed the thief acted alone. He entered through the main entrance and proceeded directly to the gold store to commit the robbery. The thief then hired a motorbike taxi to transport him to a rest stop area 2 kilometres away from the scene.
Investigations are ongoing to determine the vehicle used for his subsequent escape and to apprehend the suspect, reported KhaoSod.
Latest Thailand News
