A Russian suspect wanted in the extortion of 1.8 million baht in cryptocurrency from a Russian realtor couple on Koh Samui was arrested in Kazakhstan almost two years after being the run, bringing the total number of all six foreign suspects caught.
Interpol arrested Danil Ugay in Kazakhstan and was sent back to Thailand via Suvarnabhumi airport by Air Astana flight on Friday evening.
The 43-year-old Russian was wanted on an arrest warrant issued by the Koh Samui Provincial Court on Oct 3, 2022, for collusion in theft, physical assault without causing bodily or mental harm and coercing people through implied threats.
Pol Lt Gen Suraphong Thanomjit, commissioner of the Provincial Police Region 8, assigned a police team to bring the suspect back to Koh Samui, a popular tourist island in Surat Thani province.
The police team showed him the arrest warrant, and the suspect admitted to being the person described in the warrant. The officers then escorted him to board a flight to Koh Samui airport. He was subsequently taken to Koh Samui police station.
Evgenii Abdullin, 31, and his wife Ekaterna Abdullin, 31, both Russian nationals, filed their complaint with Pol Lt Col Udomsak Thappa, investigation chief at Koh Samui station, on Sept 15, 2022.
The couple reported that four foreign men arriving in a black van and two other foreign men on a red motorcycle confronted them in a coffee bar on Koh Samui. The group threatened them and extorted 1.8 million baht.
Police began the investigation that led to the identification of the suspects – three Kazakhstani nationals, two German nationals and one Russian.
Among the suspects, Andrey Nizhegorodtsev, a 37-year-old Kazakhstani who was the gang leader, was arrested in Pattaya, Chon Buri, on Sept 28, 2022. Four others were caught on Koh Samui, while Mr Ugay, the last suspect, managed to flee before being caught by Interpol.
Police said the suspects involved in the extortion case had run businesses and travelled between four provinces of Chon Buri, Samut Prakan, Phuket and Surat Thani before they were caught.
A police chart details the arrest of the six foreign suspects involved in the case
