PATTAYA: A Russian man charged with stealing a motorcycle from a Hungarian retiree two weeks earlier was also found to have been in the country illegally on an expired tourist visa, police say.
Vladimir Zhulabrev, 26, and his Thai wife also tested positive for illicit drugs following their arrest on Saturday.
The arrest followed a complaint from Gabor Tamas Pethoe, 71, a retired Hungarian physician, that thieves had stolen his motorcycle from the parking lot of a condominium on Soi Wat Bunyakanjanaram in Nong Prue of Bang Lamung district on June 10.
Closed-circuit television footage showed the pair taking the bike from the scene, said Pol Col Apichai Krobphet, chief of Pattaya city police.
Mr Zhulabrev, 26, and Parichart Ninnon, 25, were taken for urine tests which were positive for illicit drug use. Passport checks showed that the Russian had overstayed his visa for more than one year, said Pol Capt Apichai.
Police said the suspect confessed that he was a former army conscript who had travelled to Pattaya on a tourist visa. Being fond of the lifestyle in Thailand, he decided to settle in the country with Ms Parichart. He stole the bike as he wanted to sell it to finance his drug habit, according to police.
Police have charged the Russian with overstaying his visa and colluding in theft. The couple remain in police custody pending further legal action.
Closed-circuit footage from a condominium in Bang Lamung shows the two suspects on the stolen motorcycle. (Footage obtained by Chaiyot Pupattanapong)