Phuket Police seek arrest warrants for suspects in alleged kidnapping of Russians

PHUKET: Phuket Police are seeking arrest warrants for the two prime suspects involved in the alleged kidnapping of a Russian couple.

The woman, Iana Strizheus, 22, was badly injured and in shock when she was found by a maid at the Blue Garden Resort and Spa at about 6pm on Sunday. She and her boyfriend, Alexey Slabinskiy, 39, were reported missing nine days earlier (story here).

Mr Slabinskiy, who was allegedly threatened with death unless a ransom of US$100,000 was paid by relatives, is still missing.

“We are requesting arrest warrants from the court today for our two prime suspects, who have been identified from hotel CCTV images, ” said Phuket Provincial Police Deputy Commander Arun Kaewwatee.

Police named in Thai the two suspects as Alexander Novichkov and Andrey (no surname was provided) in the request. Both allegedly work in Phuket.

“We believe that the situation stemmed from an argument between the foreigners. After we arrest our prime suspects, we will question them and move on to apprehending any others involved,” said Col Arun.

“We are working hard to close this case. We expect to have our answers within a few days.”

— Woranut Pechdee