Picture captured from CCTV

 

A gunman made off with gold jewellery worth more than 7 million baht in a brazen armed robbery at a gold shop inside a busy shopping mall in Bang Pa-in, Ayutthaya, on 23 March. The entire heist lasted less than a minute.

 

At around 18:30, police from Phra In Racha Police Station were alerted to the robbery at Yaowarat Asia Gold Shop, located inside the Lotus shopping centre on the Asian Highway. Officers, including senior police investigators and forensic teams, arrived at the scene to assess the situation and gather evidence.

 

CCTV footage showed the suspect, a man approximately 170 cm tall, entering the shopping centre wearing a green cap with a sunshade, a black jacket, grey trousers, and black trainers. He carried a white cloth bag in his right hand.

 

He walked directly to the gold shop, stepped behind the counter, and brandished a firearm, threatening the shop staff. He then forced an employee to place gold necklaces from the display cases into his bag before calmly walking out of the store. The entire incident took less than 60 seconds.

 

The stolen items included:

 

• Three 20-baht gold necklaces

• Two 15-baht gold necklaces

• Seven 10-baht gold necklaces

 

The total weight of the stolen gold was approximately 160 baht , with an estimated value of 7.8 million baht.

 

A shop employee recounted the terrifying moment: “I was behind the counter when the man walked in from the side of the store. He pulled out a gun, told me to stay quiet, and ordered me to hand over the gold. After taking what he wanted, he walked out and left on a motorbike taxi.”

 

Another witness, a shopping centre employee, said he was collecting trolleys near the gold shop when he heard someone shout that the store had been robbed. He attempted to chase the suspect but stopped when the gunman pointed his weapon at him. “I took cover and saw him ride away on a motorbike taxi,” he said.

Police investigations confirmed that the suspect acted alone. He had walked into the shopping centre from the Asian Highway entrance and used Exit 1 to escape.

 

Authorities believe he paid a motorcycle taxi to drop him off at ProtoGo rest stop, 2 km from the shopping centre. Police are now reviewing CCTV footage to determine how the suspect continued his escape.

 

The investigation is ongoing, and authorities are working to track down the suspect and recover the stolen gold.

 

-- 2025-03-24

 

UPDATE
Air Force Officer Charged Over Gold Heist

 

Picture courtesy of Matichon.

 

A Royal Thai Air Force officer has been charged with two serious offences following a meticulously planned gold robbery in Ayutthaya province. The suspect, identified as Warrant Officer First Class (WO1) Worapot, 43, was arrested in Bangkok after allegedly stealing 160 baht-weight of gold (worth approximately 7.8 million baht) from a jewellery store in a well-known shopping mall in Bang Pa-in district on 23 March.

 

Authorities revealed that the suspect had carefully planned the crime. Having noticed the jewellery store’s strategic location near the mall entrance while using the restroom on a previous visit, he later returned on 22 March to assess the premises further by pretending to shop. On the day of the robbery, he parked his Toyota pickup truck about two kilometres away in a blind spot without CCTV surveillance, before changing clothes and walking to the mall to commit the crime.

 

After the heist, he fled on foot before hiring a motorcycle taxi to take him near his parked vehicle, allowing him to escape unnoticed.

 

The police launched an immediate investigation, using CCTV footage from the mall and vehicle dashcams to trace the suspect’s movements. Witnesses also reported spotting a man in concealing clothing behaving suspiciously near the scene. Further inquiries led authorities to his residence in Bangkok’s Sai Mai district, where they arrested him and recovered stolen gold chains, a .38 calibre handgun, clothing worn during the robbery, and the pickup truck used in the escape.

 

Investigators discovered that Worapot was under significant financial strain, with debts amounting to approximately 500,000 baht. Additionally, he had searched online for methods to melt gold, suggesting he intended to alter the stolen items before selling them.

 

The suspect faces two major charges:

 

1. Armed robbery – involving the use of a weapon while concealing his identity and employing a vehicle to facilitate the crime and escape.

 

2. Illegal possession of a firearm in public – carrying a gun in a public area without proper authorisation or reasonable cause.

 

Authorities have since conducted a crime reconstruction and will proceed with further legal action.

 

 

-- 2025-03-28