Foreigners held in death of Russian woman

Foreigners held in death of Russian woman

Phuket police arrest a foreign man for drug use - one of three foreigners who stayed in the same condominium room as a 37-year-old Russian woman who fell to her death on Tuesday. (Photo: Achadthaya Chuenniran)
Phuket police arrest a foreign man for drug use - one of three foreigners who stayed in the same condominium room as a 37-year-old Russian woman who fell to her death on Tuesday. (Photo: Achadthaya Chuenniran)

PHUKET: Police have arrested three foreigners who were in the room with a Russian woman who fell to her death from a condominium building in Patong on Tuesday, holding them on drug charges while the investigation continues.

Pol Maj Gen Sermphan Sirikhong, chief of Phuket police, said on Wednesday that investigators were looking into whether the death of the 37-year-old woman was accidental, or murder.

Three foreigners, two men and one woman, were being held on drug charges, he said.

They stayed in the same condominium room from where Evgeniia Smirnnova fell to her death on Phra Baramee Road in Patong in the early hours of Tuesday.

The three suspects were Natalia Kosenkova, 35, a Russian national; Jamaal Antwaun Smith, 38, of the United States; and  Ahmad Radi Mustafa Alatoom, 28, of Jordan.

Police found a small amount of dried cannabis in the room, 1.10 grammes. They were charged with colluding in possessing a category 5 narcotic with intent to use. The Jordanian man was arrested at Phuket airport as he was about to leave the island province.

The four people stayed in room 706. They were allegedly drinking alcohol and using cannabis before she fell. A used condom was found on the floor of the room.

There was a balcony at the back of the room, which was near a staircase connecting the 7th and 8th floors.

Do you like the content of this article?
COMMENT (19)