Hat yai: A 15-year-old youth was arrested for robbing a gold shop in Hat Yai district and fleeing to Ubon Ratchathani by plane. A search of his apartment in Hat Yai yielded 30 gold necklaces that he had left with a friend.

According to Thai News Agency, the lone gunman who robbed a gold shop inside a well-known shopping mall in Hat Yai District, Songkhla Province, at 6:36 PM on February 3, 2026, used a hammer to smash the display case before making off with 33 baht weight of gold necklaces.

Today, the Crime Suppression Division police, in collaboration with the investigative team of Provincial Police Region 9, arrested the suspect at the Ubon Ratchathani bus station. The suspect is a 15-year-old juvenile residing in Moo 2, Khlong Rang Subdistrict, Na Mom District, Songkhla Province.

Further investigation revealed that the stolen gold was stored with a close friend at an apartment in Soi 4, Nipatsongkhro 5 Road, Hat Yai Municipality. Around 7:00 PM, Pol. Gen. Thatchai Pitanilabutr, Deputy Commissioner of the Royal Thai Police, and Pol. Lt. Gen. Piyawat Chalermsri, Commander of Provincial Police Region 9, inspected the apartment. They found the suspect's 15-year-old friend and searched the room, discovering 30 gold necklaces placed in a detergent bag and further inside a woman's handbag, hidden in a wardrobe. The gold was confiscated.

Pol. Gen. Thatchai revealed that 30 gold bars were seized, which does not match the initial estimate of 33 bars missing. Further investigation is needed, including questioning the juvenile suspect and the shop owner, to verify the correct weight of the gold. The friend who entrusted the gold to the shop owner will also be investigated to determine their involvement. The Commissioner General of Police will hold a press conference on this matter tomorrow.