CHONBURI — Police are searching for suspects who reportedly robbed a money truck in Chonburi city center and made away with more than 6.2 million baht in cash in less than two minutes.
One of the truck's security guards, Pong-amorn Khamphukiew, 23, told police that the Samco company truck departed from Pattaya early this morning and stopped at ATMs across the province to replenish the machines' stocks of cash.
According to Mr. Pong-amorn, when the truck stopped at an ATM in front of the Lotus Express supermarket in Muang district, three armed men approached the truck’s crew and ordered them at gunpoint to lay down on the ground. After they complied, a pick-up truck screeched to a halt next to the guards and the suspects quickly carried off two bags of money before hopping into the vehicle.
The pick-up truck stopped briefly to pick up a man who had been selling lottery tickets nearby, and sped away, witnesses said. Police believe the lottery man was acting as a lookout for the group.
The suspects took away more than 6.2 million baht in less than 2 minutes, police say. The suspects were able to grab the bags of money because the guards had unlocked the truck's backdoor just before the robbery took place, according to the guards.
Police officers chased the pick-up truck along Chonburi – Baan Bueng Road, but to no avail. The license plate of the suspects' getaway vehicle was found to be fake. Police believe that metal caltrops scattered on parts of the road were left behind by the perpetrators to slow down the chase.
Pol.Maj.Gen. Nithit Thongdee, a police officer at Muang Chonburi Police Station, said he believes the perpetrators were part of the same group who robbed approximately 1.6 million baht from another Samco truck in Chachoengsao province last month, as they operated with similar tactics and used similar firearms.
For comments, or corrections to this article please contact: [email protected]
You can also find Khaosod English on Twitter and Facebook
http://twitter.com/KhaosodEnglish
http://www.facebook.com/KhaosodEnglish
