According to Thai media, Lieutenant Surasit Vandi, the deputy chief of Kamala Police Station in Phuket, received a report from 23-year-old Ukrainian man VIACHESLAV LEIBOV, stating that on the evening of November 8, 2024, around 10:45 PM, his friend, Ukrainian man Alfred Chernyshuk, invited him to his room.
When he arrived at the door, another friend, 21-year-old Armenian man ARMAN GRIGORYAN, came downstairs to greet him and took him to the room where the incident occurred. Afterwards, they sat on the room's balcony and chatted. Later, he wanted to use the bathroom, so he went to the restroom.
However, when he opened the door, he found two men in the bathroom with their faces covered in black cloth! Subsequently, the two men suddenly attacked the victim, then choked him, and tied his hands and feet with rope and zip ties. Then Mr. ARMAN also arrived and threatened him, forcing him to transfer $500,000 (USDT) in cryptocurrency.
If he did not transfer the money, they would break his fingers, hit him with a hammer, and chop him with a machete. After negotiating, the victim agreed to transfer $250,000 (8.56 million Thai Baht) when Mr. ARMAN lowered the amount.
After receiving the money, the assailants tied him to the bed and quickly moved his belongings out of the room. He then untied himself and ran to seek help from the police.
Initially, the police coordinated with the location of the incident to investigate, gather evidence, and urgently look for clues about the group of assailants.
