The two Russian tourists ‒ a man and a woman, both not named by police ‒ were abducted in front of the Oho Pharmacy near the intersection of Chaofa Rd, Phatipat Rd, Bangkok Rd and Pattana Rd (previously called the ‘Slaughterhouse Intersection’) at about 10pm.
Another tourist saw them being pushed into a black Hyundai van with red licence plates. The tourist rushed back to his hotel to inform hotel staff, who in turn reported the incident to the 191 hotline.
Today (Feb 1), officers from Phuket Provincial Police, Region 8 Police, Phuket Immigration and Phuket Tourist Police were involved in the ongoing investigation and questioning of the four suspects, of whom at least two are Russian.
As none of the four suspects speak English, an interpreter was brought in. The perpetrators were all tourists, Maj Gen Sinlert said.
The victims were also tourists, who arrived in Phuket last month, he said.
The two were released unharmed about a kilometre from where they were abducted after the funds had been transferred, he said.