Two women in five-member gang that reportedly got away with B60-million haul

The Hangthong Suthada gold shop in Na Thawi district of Songkhla is cordoned off following the broad daylight robbery by five armeded men dressed like rangers. (Photo from Persatuan Pemuda Pemudi Pattani Facebook account)

SONGKHLA: Five armed robbers, some wearing ranger uniforms, held up a gold shop in broad daylight in Na Thawi district and swept up almost all of its stock before fleeing in a van on Saturday.

The robbery took place at the Hangthong Suthada shop in the Thawi market, said police who were alerted at around 1.35pm. A police investigation found that three men and two women were involved, Thai media reported.

The shop owner and employees told police that the five robbers entered the shop in the afternoon and threatened them with war weapons. The robbers gathered up almost all of the gold items before fleeing in a van with yellow plates, Thai media reported.

Pol Col Seksan Churangsarit, the Songkhla deputy police chief, said the robbers tried to break the closed-circuit television camera in the shop before fleeing.

The shop owner was checking how many items were stolen to assess the amount of the loss. Various Thai media outlets gave estimates ranging from 22 million to 60 million baht for the value of the goods taken in the 10-minute robbery.

Police believe the van used in the robbery was a Hat Yai-Pattani passenger van that had been stolen in Nong Chik district on Saturday morning. The driver was tied up and left at a rubber plantation.

The van was seen heading in the direction of a border checkpoint in Na Thawi district. Police and security officers were trying to block all possible escape routes.