The military said Sunday the five soldiers and five civilians who allegedly abducted a Ukrainian man and his wife in Phuket were not an extortion gang but were in fact acting as a go-between to negotiate a debt settlement.
The soldiers and the civilians were asked to help negotiate the repayment of a 15 million baht debt owed by the Ukrainian couple to another Ukrainian, Maj Gen Teenachat Jindangeon, commander of the army's 41st Military Circle, said.
The soldiers were identified as Sgt Maj Sumit Chuaybamrung, 49, Sgt Khachenpong Boonmee, 43, Sgt Wichian Suknun, Private Kaew Wihok, 26, and Private Ritchai Phromthongkaew, 22.
They are attached to the army's 41st Military Circle in Nakhon Si Thammarat.
The civilian suspects are Prawat Iadyao, 36, Oranuch Tiyapongpatthana, 40, Khemtichai Pansao, 32, Bandal Inmang, 35, and Somporn Chaising, 58.
The civilians, including Mr Prawat, who is a translator, were asked by the unnamed creditor to find soldiers to talk Igor Lermakova, 37, and Maryna Lermakova, 32, into paying him back the money.
The civilians approached the soldiers who agreed to talk to the couple.
During the talk on Thursday at an undisclosed location, the couple said they were willing to pay back the debt. The soldiers let Mrs Lermakova leave the talk because the debt issue mainly concerned her husband.
After Mrs Lermakova left, she phoned the police and told them her husband had been abducted by an extortion gang.
In the meantime, the soldiers and civilians took Mr Lermakova to a local bank to withdraw the money to repay the debt.
When the group arrived at the bank on Friday, plainclothes police captured the soldiers and civilians.
Maj Gen Teenachat said the soldiers and the civilians were mistaken as extortionists. In fact, he insisted the soldiers were escorting the couple for their own protection.
Maj Gen Teenachat also said the soldiers did not intimidate the couple.
Mr Prawat said the Ukrainian couple were not kidnapped or threatened for money.
He also said he was a translator for the creditor and the other civilians had nothing to do with any extortion gang.