French duo’s extortion plan fails to baguette away with it in Phuket

Two foreign men, believed to be French nationals, reportedly attempted to extort 2,000 baht from a Thai tourist in the Patong area of Phuket on Monday.

The Thai victim shared his shocking experience on Monday, October 28, with Phuket Times to warn other tourists and to urge action from the local police. The victim revealed that the incident took place on Sai Gor Road in the Patong sub-district on Monday night.

He explained that he parked his motorcycle on the left lane of the road to answer a phone call. While he was on the phone, two foreign men approached him on a black motorcycle. One of them tapped him on the shoulder and demanded 2,000 baht in cash.

According to the Thai man, the foreigners then threatened him and appeared as if they were about to harm him, prompting him to quickly ride away on his motorcycle. He stated that he was frightened but had to compose himself to escape from the foreign suspects.

The victim believed that the two foreigners were French nationals due to their accents while speaking English, although he was not entirely certain of this assumption.

He expressed confidence that he was not the first victim of these two foreigners, deducing from their actions and body language, which displayed no signs of fear or hesitation. The man urged anyone who had experienced a similar situation to come forward and share their accounts to warn others.

The victim added that he had never known or expected the Patong area to have become a dangerous place and a haven for foreign criminals.

Many online commenters asked the man to share any dashcam footage from his motorcycle as evidence, while others urged him to file a complaint with the police and seek security camera footage to support his claim.

A Thai woman commented that she had previously witnessed a group of Russian nationals begging for money on Phuket’s beaches and attached a video of the alleged suspects.

Another Thai man claimed in the comments section that some French nationals in Phuket regularly carried knuckledusters and other weapons, with some even possessing illegal firearms.