Sunday’s 35-million-baht gold robbery in Narathiwat was the work of the Barisan Revolusi Nasional (BRN) separatist group according to the defence minister, and the looted gold is believed to have been smuggled across the border into Malaysia.
Defence Minister Gen Nattaphon Narkphanit on Tuesday confirmed that 600-baht-weight of gold was stolen during the armed hold up in the Big C mall in Sungai Kolok district by a gang of gunmen in black.
He rejected speculation that the heist was somehow linked to last week’s change of the 4th Army commander and his team. .
The new army commander-in-chief, Gen Pana Klaewplodthuk, was scheduled to visit the area, and he would also go there, the defence minister said.
Gen Nattaphon said he had received reports that the robbery was the work of members of the Barisan Revolusi Nasional (BRN), who afterwards fled back to “a neighbouring country”.
Asked about criticism that appointing an “outsider” to lead the 4th Army had created a power vacuum, the minister rejected the idea.
‘That is not the case. Soldiers are duty-bound wherever they serve. It was not the first gold shop robbery in the deep South,’ he said.
On comments that the holdup appeared well-coordinated and probably involved insiders who provided details about the shop and escape routes, Gen Nattaphon agreed further investigation was needed. The new 4th Army commander would provide more clarity, he said.
He confirmed reports the stolen gold had been smuggled out of Thailand and said efforts to recover it and arrest the robbers would require cross-border cooperation.
Gen Nattaphon also referred to the National Security Council’s decision to appoint former NSC secretary-general Gen Somsak Rungsita the new head of the Peace Dialogue Panel for the southern border provinces.
He had already held preliminary discussions with Gen Somsak, he said. As the government had only four months left in office, he had asked the panel to set priorities and deliver tangible results within the timeframe.
According to the Internal Security Operations Command (Isoc) Region 4, .the armed robbery in Sungai Kolok district netted about 35.6 million baht in gold jewellery, and was carried out to fund a southern separatist network,
Investigators on Monday found two pickup trucks they believe were used by the gang, abandoned at an oil palm plantation in Waeng district.
Police now believe the heist involved 19 or 20 men in three groups. The first group stole the two pickups used in the heist, another raided the gold shop and the third placed explosive charges and scattered tyre spikes on roads around the shopping centre to prevent pursuit.