Armed Robber Steals Over 7 Million in Gold in Daring Heist at Shopping Mall

[Georgealbert]

 

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