Phuket-
On May 15th, 2025, Phuket Immigration officials reported to the Phuket Express the arrest of a suspect identified only as Mr. Oleksandr, a 25-year-old man with Swedish/Russian nationality.
He was apprehended at the Phuket International Airport’s international departure terminal and subsequently taken to the Chalong Police Station on charges related to an alleged night theft.
The arrest was made following a complaint lodged by a victim identified only as Ms. Diera, a 23-year-old Russian national, who claimed that on May 8th, around 11:00 PM, she had arranged to meet Mr. Oleksandr at a villa in Chalong. The meeting, organized through Telegram, was meant for exchanging 25,000 baht in cash for 700 dollars’ worth of cryptocurrency.
According to Ms. Diera, during their meeting, an accomplice of Mr. Oleksandr restrained her and covered her head with a bag, subsequently binding her hands and feet. She said she was coerced into transferring additional funds and was physically assaulted. After revealing her mobile phone password she showed the suspects that she had no remaining funds in her online bank account. The suspects were still not pleased and demanded she find more money.
Under duress, she contacted a friend who then delivered an additional 104,546 baht to Mr. Oleksandr. She was released without being harmed but chose, despite threats by the suspects to not do so previously, to go to the police for help. The police managed to successfully track down one of the suspects.
Mr. Oleksandr has informed the authorities that his accomplice has fled Thailand. An arrest warrant has been issued for this second suspect, who remains at large, and police are reportedly working with international authorities to attempt to bring this suspect to justice.
Mr. Oleksandr has not released any statements about his own role in the alleged crime or a plea as of press time.
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