The man was arrested at the Immigration Checkpoint in the international arrivals hall at about 10:30am while the man was attempting to enter the country, reported officers at the ‘Phuket Immigration Checkpoint’ at Phuket airport, now overseen by Pol Col Padthongtew Damapong.
The arrest was made by Immigration Inspector Pol Lt Col Akkhaphon Kaewkiat, joined by officers from the ‘Crime Suppression Investigation Team’ and police officers from Cherng Talay Police Station, the report noted.
The man was described as “a male suspect, Russian national, 53 years old. His name was not revealed.
However, the brief report posted online by ‘Phuket Immigration Checkpoint’ at the airport explained that the man was wanted for “committing the crime of causing others to commit crimes, whether by using force, threats, hiring or inducing or by any other means”.
The report posted noted clearly that the case related directly to the “attempt to kill MR. DMITRY ALEYNIKOV by using a firearm”.
The man was taken to Cherng Talay Police Station for ”further legal action”, the report said.
Dmitry Aleynikov was shot in an assassination attempt outside a cafe at Boat Avenue in Cherng Talay on June 7. He survived the shooting.
The gunman, a Kazakh national, opened fire four times in broad daylight on the 44-year-old Russian businessman while he sat in a small car in the car park. The Kazakh then fled on a Yamaha N-Max scooter.
The gunman, not named in any official reports, was described as of Korean ethnicity born in 1974. He was later apprehended at Phuket airport while trying to leave Thailand on initial charges of overstaying his visa.
Maj Gen Sermphan Sirikong, Phuket Provincial Police Commander at the time, later confirmed that the Kazakh man had been charged with attempted murder.
Investigators believe that the motive for the attack may be related to Mr Aleynikov’s business interests in Phuket.
Mr Aleynikov, who turned 44 years old on June 9, is known to be involved in the restaurant business in Phuket.
See also:
Russian man shot outside Boat Avenue bar
Suspect in Boat Avenue shooting apprehended at Phuket Airport
Business interests suspected as motive for Boat Avenue shooting