PHUKET police are moving to arrest four foreign criminals who detained and threatened to harm a Ukrainian man holidaying on the island and fled after getting US$250,000 in digital currency (around 8.5 million baht) from him, Thai Rath newspaper said today (Nov. 10).
Pol. Col. Somsak Thongkliang, superintendent of Kamala police station, said the Ukrainian tourist, Mr. Viacheslav Leibov, 23, said the foreign robbers tied his hands and feet and threatened to break his fingers to force him to transfer the large amount of digital currency with this occurring at around 10.30 p.m. on Friday night (Nov. 8).
He related that he had been invited by Mr. Arman Grigoryan, 21, an Armenian, to meet him at his room. When he arrived, Grigoryan came down to take him there.
After they sat and talked on the balcony for a while Leibov had to go to the bathroom. However as he opened the door, he saw two men wearing balaclavas within, one was wearing black trousers and a black long-sleeve shirt while the other was also wearing trousers and a shirt but he does not remember other details.
They then locked his neck and tied his hands and feet with ropes and cable ties.
One of the assailants who was holding a hammer threatened to break Leibov’s fingers unless he transferred US$500,000 in digital currency to their account while the other stood nearby holding a long knife.
However he negotiated and the ransom was reduced by half to US$250,000 which he transferred to his captors’ account as he feared for his life.
Upon getting the money the assailants tied him up to the bed and threatened him to not report this to the police, then packed their belongings and left the room.
He then told the receptionist he wanted to collect his belongings from the room and after gathering some evidence, hopped on a motorcycle and rushed to Phuket airport to find the robbers but they were not there.
He then returned to his room in Rawai subdistrict, Mueang district, and decided to file a complaint at Kamala police station.
As of 2.20 p.m. today police investigators had collected enough evidence to ask Phuket Provincial Court to issue arrest warrants for four suspects. Aside from Grigoryan and Chernyshuk the third suspect was identified as Mr. Ruslan Musaiev, 22, who too is a Ukrainian national, while the fourth man was not identified.
Photo: Thai Rath
Comments
