The court in Phuket issued arrest warrants for five Russian suspects who allegedly kidnapped a Russian couple on this famous southern tourist island resort and forcing them to transfer 30 million baht worth of crypto-currency.
The police initially detained four suspects, the first two Russians were found at their resident and the other two were detained at Phuket International Airport while they were leaving the country. All of them were taken to Phuket provincial station for questioning. They failed to give the details that useful for the police’s investigation.
Honorary Consul for Russia in Phuket was reportedly meet the four suspects and also the two victims. The details of the meetings were not disclosed.
The fifth suspect, given name only “Mr. Alan” who is accused of being a mastermind of the plan, was detain by police investigator team while he was at a massage parlor in Patong area of Kratu district. He was taken to the police station for questioning. He was separated from the first four suspects.
In the latest development, the Phuket Provincial court issued the arrest warrants for five suspects. They initially denied all charges and refused to sign their names at the copy of the arrest report. They were taken to the detention area pending for the prosecution processes.
The two Russian tourists ‒ a man and a woman, both not named by police ‒ were kidnapped on January 31 in front of a restaurant near Lo Rong intersection in Phuket provincial seat. They were pushed into a van and were forced to transfer crypto-currency worth nearly or nearly 900,000 U.S. dollars or around 30 million baht to the gang. The man was beaten by the suspects.
The two were released about a kilometer from where they were abducted after the funds had been transferred.
The husband and wife, reportedly a wealthy couple, told police that on January 31 they were riding a motorcycle from a game parlor at Chalong sub-district in Phuket provincial seat to return to their resident in Talad Yai sub-district.
On the way, a black Hyundai van with red license plates blocked the way and three men from the van forced them into the vehicle and used black bags to cover their heads. After the transfer, they were released and immediately filed a complaint with local police.
The victims told police that they did not know the four Russian suspects before. They entered the country last December. The five suspects entered the country in January and they were reportedly followed the couple to monitor their behavior for a while. (TNA)
