Pattaya police practiced their response to an armed bank robbery in an exercise aimed at helping both law enforcement and financial institutions in the city.
Pattaya’s police chief, Pol. Col. Supathee Bungkhrong, and Thanaphorn Lertvirasirikul, manager of Krung Thai’s Thepprasit Road branch, ran the Aug. 21 drill using a disguised police officer to steal 200,000 baht at gunpoint within 15 seconds.
It takes a disguised police officer only 15 seconds to steal 200,000 baht at gunpoint from Krung Thai Bank’s Thepprasit Road branch.
A second disguised officer waited outside on a motorbike and both fled with the money down Jomtien Second Road toward Sukhumvit Road.
Bank employees triggered the alarm, requesting help from the police, who arrived within two minutes to get the robbers’ descriptions and the perpetrators were soon captured.
Thanaphorn said Krung Thai has installed several security cameras inside and outside the bank tied to the police station to speed response.
After the drills, Supathee said the exercise is meant to reassure tourists or locals on bank safety and prepare officers for any bank-robbery incidents.