NARATHIWAT – Thai authorities have initiated a large-scale manhunt for a heavily armed criminal group following a brazen gold heist at a shopping mall in this southern border province. The robbery on Sunday evening resulted in the theft of an estimated 600 gold baht weight (approximately 9 kilograms) from a jewelry shop and left a soldier seriously wounded.

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The highly coordinated operation involved approximately seven masked assailants dressed in black, who were captured on CCTV footage smashing display cases with guns before fleeing with gold ornaments. The incident took a violent turn when an off-duty special forces sergeant, Burit Radachai, exchanged fire with the suspects. He sustained three gunshot wounds to his shoulder and face and was promptly hospitalized.

Heavily armed men robbed a gold shop in Big C, Thailand pic.twitter.com/x9Ps9X8X3Y

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Authorities believe at least ten individuals participated in the elaborate scheme. The gang initially stole two pickup trucks from a residence in Su-ngai Padi district earlier on Sunday, using them as getaway vehicles. Following the robbery, the suspects escalated the chaos by leaving a suspected explosive device—identified as a cooking gas cylinder—and scattering caltrops on the road outside the mall. This caused damage to civilian vehicles and forced a temporary road closure. A second, smaller explosion occurred approximately 30 minutes later about 500 meters from the mall.

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Forensic teams and the Explosive Ordnance Disposal unit have sealed off an area in Waeng district, near the Malaysian border, where the two abandoned stolen trucks were discovered. Security forces have established strict checkpoints across the southern border provinces and are coordinating with Malaysian authorities to prevent the suspects from escaping across the international border. The investigation continues as authorities work to gather DNA evidence and identify all those involved.

-Thailand News (TN)