Belarusian national Albert Viviankou, 23, and his wife, who was not named by the police, were abducted in Phuket Town on the evening of Wednesday (Jan 31). A group of men forced them into a black Hyundai minivan near Sugar Palm Condo and O-OH Farm Restaurant north of Suan Luang Park.
The police described the location as “near the Slaughterhouse Intersection,” referring to the old name of the Chao Fa – Patiphat Intersection. Eyewitnesses provided more specific details in their online reports.
“Just now, between O-OH and our condo, some Russian man was abducted [by culprits] in a black minivan with tinted windows. He was screaming loudly, including ’Help me!’ We only saw him being forced into the minivan, and then the vehicle’s door was shut. Personnel and patrons of the O-OH Farm ran out; one of them tried to stop the minivan but could only hit the window. This is all the information as of now,” read an eyewitness’s report posted in the @Real_Phuket Telegram channel at 11:26pm on Jan 31.
The next day (Feb 1), Phuket Police confirmed the abduction and revealed that four suspects, all or some of whom are Russian nationals, had been arrested in connection with the case.
Today (Feb 2), it was clarified that a total of five Russian men had been apprehended in connection with the case and charged with conspiring to abduct a person/people and extort money.
According to the most recent report by Phuket Police, some eyewitnesses followed the Hyundai minivan from the crime scene before the vehicle got lost in the area of Naka Market. The eyewitnesses then contacted the 191 emergency hotline, operated by the Royal Thai Police.
The kidnappers forced Mr Viviankou to transfer to them an equivalent of USD 801,200 in an unspecified cryptocurrency. The Belarusian man and his wife were then released unharmed not far from the abduction scene.
Police officers promptly identified the rental house where the kidnappers took the victim. The house, located less than 2km away from O-OH Farm and Sugar Palm Condo, had a white Toyota Fortuner parked near the building, believed to belong to one of the criminals.
In the car, police officers found a rope, three rolls of duct tape, and box cutters. Fingerprints were taken from these items, which were classified as pieces of evidence.
Arrested in connection with the case were five Russian nationals named by the police as:
Zalim Nalchikov, 37,
- Oleg Bogdanov, 30,
- Azamat Nagoev, 36,
- Islam Abdokov, 29,
- Aslan Abazov, 36.
The ages of the suspects were reported according to Thai police standards, indicating how old the individuals should be after their birthdays in 2024.
The case was reported to Bangkok as the first “serious and shocking incident” of 2024, as indicated by its official number 1/2567.