Colombian man arrested over fatal shooting of Iraqi tourist in Phuket
Police arrested a Colombian national in connection with the fatal shooting of an Iraqi tourist in the Patong area of Phuket on Saturday, February 7.
Officers confirmed that the suspect was taken into custody on Sunday, February 8, following an intensive manhunt led by Patong Police Station. The victim was identified as a 24 year old Iraqi man, Ameer Mundher Mahmood.
According to police, the shooting took place at around 5.50pm outside the C&N Hotel on Siriraj Road in the Patong sub-district of Phuket. Mahmood was reportedly cleaning his motorcycle when he was approached and shot at close range. He was rushed to the hospital in critical condition but later succumbed to his injuries.
Investigators reviewed CCTV footage from the area and found that the gunman arrived on a red-and-black Honda Click motorcycle. The suspect was seen wearing a motorcycle helmet, a black T-shirt with the letter “K” printed on the back, a windbreaker, jeans, and trainers.
Further investigation led officers to identify the suspect as Fernando Estaid Guevara Sanchez, a Colombian national who stayed at a hotel close to the scene of the shooting. Police said he checked out of his accommodation shortly after the murder, raising suspicions.
A search of the suspect’s residence uncovered multiple items believed to be linked to the crime, including a motorcycle matching the one seen on CCTV, two firearms, clothing allegedly worn during the shooting, and the helmet captured in the surveillance footage.
Police continued tracking the suspect and eventually located him at a hotel in the Mai Khao sub-district of Thalang district, Phuket, where he was arrested yesterday.
The motive behind the killing remains under investigation. Police have not ruled out the possibility that the suspect may have entered Thailand specifically to carry out the murder.
Online speculation linked the victim to an organised crime group based in Sweden, but authorities stressed that no such information was not officially confirmed.
The suspect was charged under Section 289 of the Criminal Law for premeditated murder, an offence that carries penalties ranging from long-term imprisonment to the death penalty.
He also faces additional charges under the Firearms Act of Thailand for illegal possession of firearms and carrying a weapon in a public place without a valid reason.
A previous shooting involving foreign nationals in Thailand was reported in 2022 at a restaurant in the Sukhumvit area of Bangkok.
In this case, a Frenchman and a Thai woman were fatally shot, while another French national, a chef and co-owner of the restaurant, was seriously injured. The details of the incident, as well as the motive in that case, were not publicly disclosed.
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