Phuket –
Police in Phuket have arrested a Colombian national suspected of fatally shooting an Iraqi tourist in the bustling Patong area, capturing the alleged hitman within just eight hours of the crime.
The Patong Police told the Phuket Express that the incident occurred at 5:53 p.m. on February 7th, when officers at Patong Police Station received reports of gunfire near a hotel on Siriraj Road. The victim, identified as Ameer Mundher Mamood, 24, from Iraq, was rushed to hospital but later succumbed to gunshot wounds to his body.
By 3:00 a.m. on February 8th, a coordinated police operation involving investigators from Phuket Provincial Police, Region 8 officers, the Crime Suppression Division, Tourist Police, and special operations units tracked down the suspect. He was found hiding in a homestay in Sakhu, Thalang, allegedly preparing to flee the country with a flight bound for Doha, Qatar.
Investigators revealed that the suspect had entered Phuket around January 19th. Authorities believe he was contracted abroad to carry out the killing, noting his immediate attempt to escape after the shooting. Police suspect the crime was a targeted assassination rather than a random act of violence.
However, at this time, it is unclear why the Iraqi man, described as a tourist at least initially by police, was targeted or what the relationship was between him and the suspect. This was still under investigation.
