Firefighters extinguishing flames after a bomb explosion at a PTT petrol station in Narathiwat province, southern Thailand, early on Jan 11. -- PHOTO: EPA via The Straits Times/ANN
BANGKOK (The Nation Thailand/ANN): The commander of Thailand’s Fourth Army Area said the Jan 11 attacks on 11 petrol stations across three of the country’s southern border provinces appear to be linked to the same broader network behind a high-profile gold shop robbery in Sungai Golok, Narathiwat.
Lieutenant-General Norathip Poinok, who is also the director of the Internal Security Operations Command (ISOC) Region 4, said the military, police and administrative authorities are integrating forces to pursue those responsible.
He added that investigators found bloodstains at a petrol station in Cho-airong district, Narathiwat, and forensic teams are analysing the evidence.
He said authorities are not ruling out any motives, including security-related factors and local political dynamics, noting that the incidents occurred during the period of subdistrict administrative organisation (SAO) elections.
However, he assessed that the petrol station attacks were connected to the same network as the Su-ngai Kolok gold robbery, though carried out by a different “sub-group”.
The earlier case involved a robbery at a Yaowarat gold shop branch inside a Big C store in Su-ngai Kolok on Oct 5, 2025.
The attackers were armed, stole gold worth more than 35 million baht (RM4.43million), shot and injured a soldier, and set an explosive device to delay pursuit. Security agencies said DNA evidence in that case was linked to an insurgent group, and the suspects were believed to have fled through natural crossings along the border.
Following the robbery, authorities tightened border controls along the Golok River, a stretch of more than 100km, closing key informal routes and coordinating with Malaysia’s Royal Malaysia Police (PDRM) to block escape lines.
Lt Gen Norathip said DNA tests have now identified one suspect from a group estimated at around 10 people.
The suspect is from Sungai Padi district and is linked to multiple security cases, he said. He added that forensic checks on a pickup truck used in the petrol station attacks found DNA matching an insurgent group, and he insisted the perpetrators were not state officials, rejecting online disinformation claims. -- THE NATION THAILAND/ASIA NEWS NETWORK
