Pol. Lt. Gen. Nopphasin led the team to unravel the "Straw Hat Thief" case, linking it to the old 2019 "Wig Thief" robbery. DNA evidence confirms it is the same individual, closing a 7-year-old cold case with plans to file additional charges.
In the case where the investigation team tracked the suspect who robbed a gold shop, stealing approximately 198 baht of gold and about 170,000 baht in cash—totaling losses over 10 million baht—inside a department store in the Sukhumvit area on 30 January, police arrested Mr. Jalo or Thiw (surname withheld), 29 years old, who confessed to committing the crime on 19 February.
On 26 February, Pol. Lt. Gen. Siam Boonsom, Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police Bureau, ordered Pol. Lt. Gen. Nopphasin Poolsawad, Chief of Staff to the Commissioner-General, to work with the Metropolitan Police Bureau. Along with Pol. Maj. Gen. Chotiwat Luangwilai, Chief of the Detective Division, Pol. Maj. Gen. Watee Asawutamangkul, Chief of the Forensic Science Division, Pol. Col. Ritweer Sukcharoen, Chief of Investigation Division 5, Pol. Col. Chaiwat Pradapthai, Chief of Phra Khanong Police Station, Pol. Col. Ratthanont Ektitikulpatt, Chief of Thonglor Police Station, and forensic officers, they convened to follow up on the case progress. The aim was to examine whether Mr. Jalo or Mr. Thiw was the same suspect in the 2019 gold shop robbery, given similarities in appearance, distinguishing marks, and crime patterns.
DNA comparison results revealed that Mr. Jalo or Mr. Thiw and the suspect who robbed the gold shop in the Rama 4 area in 2019 are the same individual. After the 2019 robbery, forensic officers collected DNA from the left handlebar of a yellow Yamaha motorcycle without a license plate used during the crime. When Mr. Jalo or Mr. Thiw’s DNA was tested, it matched the DNA from the 198 baht gold robbery on 30 January.
Going forward, the additional forensic reports will be submitted to the public prosecutor, and authorities will proceed with investigation and file further charges against Mr. Jalo or Mr. Thiw to continue legal proceedings.