An Australian man wanted for robbing a compatriot of 21 million baht in Phuket and Samui has been arrested in Pattaya, police say.
Officers from Provincial Police Region 8 and Chon Buri police arrested the man, identified only as Vasilios, at a luxury villa in Bang Lamung district on Friday.
The arresting team found two lions on the two-rai property. Several BB guns were also found. The suspect held a Thailand Privilege Card, which gives special visa perks to wealthy people.
The elaborately tattooed suspect, who also goes by the name Billy, told police that he purchased the two lions, one aged over one year old for one million baht, and another one aged five months for 700,000 baht. His Thai girlfriend is the registered owner of the animals.
The Australian was wanted on arrest warrants issued by the Phuket and Samui provincial courts for colluding in robberies, said Pol Lt Gen Suraphong Thanomjit, commissioner of Provincial Police Region 8.
The arrest followed a complaint by an Australian national that he had been robbed twice by his compatriots of cash and cryptocurrencies worth 21 million baht. The victim claimed the gang had also threatened him. He told police that the gang leader was a mafia figure in Australia and the gang was involved in the drug trade.
Investigators found that four men, led by Billy, had broken into a villa in the Chalong area of Phuket and forced the victim to transfer 2 million baht into Billy’s bank account. The robbers also took 10.5 million baht in cash and threatened the victim not to file a police complaint.
In January of this year, Billy reportedly sent his Thai associates to locate the victim, who had moved to Koh Samui. The gang forced the victim to transfer 2.8 bitcoins to Billy. The victim lost a total of 21 million baht in the two robberies, according to police.
The Australian suspect points to some of the guns inside his villa in Pattaya. (Photo: Provincial Police Region 8)