BANGKOK, THAILAND – A recently arrested suspected gold robber was linked by DNA testing to a similar 2013 heist, leading investigators to consider a decade-old case solved.
Recent mall robbery on Soi Sukhumvit 50
Police said 28-year-old Jalor, also known as Tew, was arrested on 19 February in Chiang Rai. He was suspected of stealing cash and gold worth almost 15 million baht during a robbery on 31 January at a shopping mall on Soi Sukhumvit 50 in Bangkok.
According to CCTV footage, the suspect entered a gold shop shortly before closing time. He allegedly threatened staff by announcing he would set the shopping mall on fire.
Escape, arrest and alleged gold sale
Fearing for their safety, employees handed over gold jewellery and cash, according to investigators. The man then fled on a motorcycle and evaded arrest for nearly three weeks.
The detained suspect told officers he had asked a friend in Myanmar to sell the stolen gold. He said he had already received 200,000 baht from an initial portion of the proceeds.
Suspected link to 2013 robbery
Investigators from the Metropolitan Police Bureau told Channel 7 that Jalor’s appearance and method closely resembled a gold robbery in 2013. That earlier crime took place in a shopping mall in the Rama 4 area of Bangkok.
At the time, officers collected DNA traces from the handle of a yellow Yamaha motorcycle. The bike was believed to have been used in the robbery and attributed to the perpetrator.
DNA match closes old case
Police said they had compared the DNA of the newly arrested Jalor with the samples secured in the 2013 case. They reported a clear match between the two sets of traces.
Investigators therefore believed Jalor was the robber sought in the earlier case. They announced that the criminal charges against him would be expanded accordingly.
Other unsolved cases and role of DNA technology
According to the report, another unresolved case advanced in September last year through DNA analysis. Investigators identified a skeleton found in Bangkok as that of Kae, a Thai woman missing since 2013.
They also identified the woman’s then boyfriend as a prime suspect. He had denied all allegations but died by suicide before he could be questioned again.
Is DNA catching up with old offenders?
More than a decade after the 2013 gold robbery, the case remained unsolved until modern DNA analysis provided what police viewed as a decisive hit. The 28-year-old suspect, recently caught after the spectacular 15-million-baht robbery, was now believed to be identical with the earlier perpetrator.
A trace on the motorcycle handle turned out to be the turning point, according to investigators. The developments raised questions about how many unresolved cases might be reopened through new technology and whether this marked the start of a broader wave of delayed justice.