SURAT THANI: One of six foreign men accused of extorting 1.8 million baht in cryptocurrency from a Russian realtor couple in Koh Samui has been arrested in Chon Buri province.
Andrey Nizhegorodtsev, 37, from Kazakhstan, was taken into custody by Chon Buri police at a house in tambon Huai Yai of Bang Lamung district on Wednesday afternoon.
Mr Nizhegorodtsev was wanted on an arrest warrant issued by the Koh Samui Provincial Court for collusion in theft, physical assault without causing bodily or mental harm, and coercing people through implied threats.
Police also impounded a black van that was believed to have been used while committing the alleged offences.
The suspect was later escorted to Koh Samui police station in the southern province of Surat Thani.
According to police, security camera recordings showed Mr Nizhegorodtsev and another man getting out of the van to exchange money at a currency booth not far from the coffee bar where the alleged offences occurred.
During questioning, the suspect gave no information about the other five suspects, according to police.
They are Salman Almaty, 56, a Kazakh national who reportedly fled Thailand on Sept 17; Tschingis Akhmadov, 39, a German national, who also fled the country on Sept 20; Vladimir Orekhov, 42, a Russian national who has since left Koh Samui; and two other men whose nationalities were currently being verified.
Evgenii Abdullin, 31, and his wife Ekaterna Abdullin, 31, both of them Russians, filed their complaint with Pol Lt Col Udomsak Thappa, the investigation chief at Koh Samui station, on Monday.
The couple said they were seated in Boy’s Organic Coffee shop in tambon Taling-ngam, Koh Samui district, on Sept 15. Six foreign men approached their table and threatened them, demanding money.
The couple eventually handed over 1.8 million baht.
According to their complaint, four of the men arrived in a black van and the two others on a red motorcycle.
The men intimidated and demanded the couple transfer US$3 million (114 million baht) in cryptocurrency.
Mr Abdullin said he told them he only had $58,000 at the time. Fearing for their lives, he transferred $50,000 worth of cryptocurrency to the gang.