Jimi Sandhu was killed by two foreign men in front of the Beachfront Hotel Phuket in Rawai on Feb 4. CCTV footage at the resort showed Mr Singh/Sandhu pull up in front of the building in a red MG car at about 10:30pm. As he got out of the car two men jumped out from the bushes and opened heavy fire with handguns.
The shooters then left the scene, threw their weapons into the sea (a CZ and a Walter handguns were later found with the use of metal detector) and got rid of some of their cloths.
When Sandhu’s body was found on Feb 5, police discovered on him two different pieces of identification: a passport bearing the name of a Canadian of Indian descent, and a driver’s license bearing the name of another Canadian of Indian descent. None of them were in the name of Jimi Sandhu though. The real name was later revealed by Canadian media and confirmed by Thai police.
Meanwhile the suspects left Thailand on Feb 6, as was announced by the national police chief Gen Suwat Jangyodsuk during his visit to Phuket on Feb 10.
According to the most recent report, by Feb 12 Chalong Police had gathered enough evidence to request warrants to arrest the suspects – Canadian nationals Gene Karl Lahrkamp and Matthew Leandre Ovide Dupre, both aged 36 and having served in the military.
Before applying to the Phuket Provincial Court, offices had gathered various pieces of evidence, studied records from CCTV cameras in the area and inspected the area itself, questioned witnesses and received relevant information from foreign authorities “in order to track and arrest the suspects for prosecution within the framework of the law”. All had been done “in order to build confidence among people and tourists (sic)”.
“The Phuket Provincial Court approved arrest warrants for the two suspects, who are Canadian nationals, on the charges of “joining to commit a premeditated murder or to prepare to committing other offenses; possession of firearms and ammunition without permission; carrying firearms in towns, villages or public on roads without justifiable urgency; firing guns in a towns, villages or communities,” Deputy Royal Thai Police spokesman Col Krisana Pattanajaroen said.
“The next step after the court has issued arrests warrants is coordinating with Interpol for the agency to consider issuing Red Notices [a notice to arrest a person wanted by a judicial jurisdiction or an international tribunal with a view to their extradition] and informing all 195 member countries around the world [about the need to arrest the suspects],” Col Krisana added.
Col Krisana added that Gen Suwat has “emphasized” that all police officers involved in the investigation and arrest of the suspects to “expedite the investigation to build confidence among people, including tourists”.
“Moreover, news related to the case is now widely presented on social media. This can cause confusion and misunderstandings. Therefore, people are asked to follow the news from the government only. If there is any additional information, it will be announced later,” he added.
Now it is know that the suspects arrived in Thailand on Dec 18 as tourists and their passports were genuine.
Gen Suwat confirmed that police knew where the men fled to, but it was not revealed which country the fugitives landed in after leaving Thailand.