Eight armed men carried out a daring gold heist at a jewellery store inside the Big C shopping complex in Sungai Golok, Thailand — a popular spot among Malaysian tourists — on Sunday night, before escaping with bags full of gold.
According to a Sungai Golok police spokesperson, the incident happened around 6:30 p.m. local time (7:30 p.m. Malaysian time) and left a security officer injured. Two explosions were also reported about 10 kilometres from the Malaysian border in Kelantan.
The spokesperson said the group stormed into the Yaowarat Krungthep gold shop inside Big C while shoppers and employees were still inside. “Gunfire erupted during the robbery, injuring Sergeant Burisorn Radachai, a small arms specialist from the Border Patrol Police 408 unit,” the spokesperson added.
The suspects managed to flee with several bags of gold jewellery before authorities arrived. Sergeant Burisorn, who was reportedly shopping for supplies for his unit at the time, sustained gunshot wounds and was rushed to Sungai Golok Hospital for treatment.
Authorities later discovered that the robbers had scattered metal spikes and placed suspicious gas-cylinder-like objects near a U-turn in front of Big C to prevent police pursuit. CCTV footage captured the suspects fleeing in a white pickup truck.
Following the incident, Sungai Golok police cordoned off the area and deployed the Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) team to inspect the suspicious objects. A massive manhunt is now underway, including operations along the Thai-Malaysian border.
Security forces in Sungai Golok have also launched a separate operation to locate two pickup trucks stolen by armed men dressed in black from a house in the nearby Sungai Padi district.
