Kuala Lumpur thieves steal millions worth of gold in brazen daylight robbery

The high price of the precious metal has been driving up the number of heists in Malaysia

Rowan Dunne

Published

1 hour ago

Four armed robbers stormed a gold shop in Kuala Lumpur’s Brickfields district and made off with jewellery worth RM9.7 million. The total is equivalent to approximately US$2.45 million.

The brazen daylight heist took place on Apr. 16 at about 11 am inside a shop along Jalan Tun Sambanthan — a major road.

The men burst in wearing helmets and carrying two pistols. They quickly overpowered the security guard, seized his shotgun and a round of ammunition and grabbed 21 trays of gold jewellery weighing roughly 15 kilograms.

Within minutes, the gang fled on foot into the busy commercial area. No one suffered serious injuries, but the swift strike left shop owners and customers in shock.

Kuala Lumpur police chief Datuk Fadil Marsus said investigators are treating the case as armed gang robbery under Sections 395 and 397 of the Penal Code. Officers continue to hunt the four unidentified suspects and have appealed to the public for information. CCTV footage shows the entire operation lasted less than three minutes.

The thieves moved with clear efficiency, which suggests they had scouted the location in advance. Police describe the haul as one of the largest single gold thefts in the capital in recent years. The shop lost stock that represented months of business for the family-run outlet.

This robbery forms part of a worrying pattern across Malaysia. In March, a lone robber on a motorcycle stormed a jewellery store in Petaling Jaya’s Section 14. He struggled with security guards, and one guard shot him dead at the scene. Weeks earlier in January, two men on a motorcycle raided a jewellery counter inside a Nilai supermarket. They snatched 15 gold trays worth about RM60,000 and sped away. In each incident, the robbers targeted high-value, portable gold items during daylight or early evening hours.

Experts link the surge in these crimes directly to soaring gold prices, which have reached record levels this year. As the precious metal’s price remains elevated, jewellery shops become tempting targets for organised gangs.

Police across the country have increased patrols and urged shop owners to install better alarms and hire armed guards. Authorities warn that the trend will likely persist as long as gold prices stay high.