A 36 year old Belarusian man named Georgi Gavrylchyk has been arrested by Region 8 Police in Rawai, Phuket on charges of being involved in a theft that took place in the island province. The police arrested the man as part of an investigation into the theft of tens of thousands of dollars in cash and cryptocurrency from two Russian victims.
The victims, 35 year old Viacheslav Kopan and 32 year old Evgenii Kamolov, reported that they were attacked by a group of foreign suspects on Soi Cherng Talay 16 in the early morning of December 11 and robbed of US$20,000 in cash and US$25,000 in cryptocurrency.
Another suspect in the case, 32 year old Dnitry Shergin, was arrested last Wednesday and is facing charges of robbery, illegal possession of firearms, carrying a gun in public without a permit, and illegally detaining other people. The police identified Shergin as the suspect after a full investigation. However, the other suspects involved in the incident are still on the run.
There has been an increase in incidents of violent crime involving Russians in Thailand in recent times. Just this week, there was a reported case of a Russian woman who went on a rampage and bit a British woman’s finger during a spat over a bean bag chair at the beach. Last month, a Russian tourist was arrested for vandalizing two 7-Eleven branches in Pattaya, causing injuries to himself and others.
In conclusion, the arrest of Georgi Gavrylchyk and Dnitry Shergin in the Phuket theft incident is a significant step in the investigation and a warning to other criminals that such acts of violence and theft will not be tolerated in Thailand. The authorities are working to apprehend the other suspects involved in the incident, and the case is still developing.
