Hunt for southern insurgents who robbed gold shop

A BIG group of southern insurgents mounted a well-organised robbery of a gold shop at a shopping mall in Su-ngai Kolok district, Narathiwat province, last evening (Oct. 5) and made off with at least 500 baht weight of gold ornaments, Amarin TV said this morning.

There was an exchange of gunfire with police before the gang fled in a pickup truck amid panic among shoppers still trapped inside the mall. Two person who got injured were quickly taken to the hospital

Security officers have closed the border as they hunted for the robbers who targeted the gold shop near the closing time. They had first robbed a pickup truck belonging to a resident of Su-ngai Padi district then skillfully avoided the main road that had CCTV cameras and instead reached the mall via a road within the village of Pa Yang, a secluded area with no surveillance cameras.

The over 20 men who hit this gold shop is a new group within the BRN with all being men under 35 years of age. Most hold dual nationalities with no prior criminal record.

The gang had carefully planned the robbery with eight of them actually going to the gold shop and sweeping all the gold ornaments and escaping while another group placed a gas cylinder on the road and the third scattered nails on another stretch of the road to prevent the authorities from arresting them and facilitate crossing the border to the neighbouring country.

It is suspected that this is the same group that had robbed a gold shop in Tak Bai district.

However, security officials are continuing strong measures in hunting for the gang, having set up checkpoints and closed the border to arrest and bring them to justice.

CAPTION:

Scenes from the robbery of a gold shop at a shopping mall in Narathiwat last evening, Oct. 5, 2025. Photos – Amarin TV