PHUKET: Investigators believe that the possible motive behind an assassination attempt on a Russian man at Boat Avenue could be his business interests in Phuket. The man was shot four times through the windshield of his car on Wednesday (June 7) but managed to survive the attack.
As of this morning (June 11), police have arrested one man in connection with the case and have obtained an arrest warrant in his name. The charges on which he has been arrested and the duration of his detention have not been disclosed.
The man was apprehended on June 8, though not on attempted murder-related charges but solely for overstaying his visa. At that time, Phuket Police Chief Maj Gen Sermphan Sirikong confirmed in a phone conversation with The Phuket News that there were no formal charges against him related to the shooting. It is unclear if this has changed since then.
The suspect, a national of Kazakhstan of Korean origin born in 1974, was arrested after police discovered that he had rented the Yamaha N-Max scooter used in the shooting. The man denies any connection to the murder attempt.
The absence of formal confirmation regarding shooting-related charges has led to speculation on social media about the resemblance between the arrested man and the suspect captured by CCTV cameras at the shooting scene
Several key pieces of evidence are now in police custody, including the aforementioned Yamaha N-Max scooter, the clothes worn by the shooter and dropped near the scene, and a .38 caliber revolver with two unused rounds of ammunition found in a nearby lake.
Police are yet to confirm if they are able to conduct DNA tests or similar tests to establish a connection between the arrested man from Kazakhstan and the shooting.
Boat Avenue shooting
An attack on a Phuket-based businessman from Russia, whose name the police have not officially disclosed, occurred at the Boat Avenue complex near Laguna Phuket at around 11.30am on Wednesday (June 7).
According to eyewitness accounts, the attacker had been waiting at the complex on a grey Yamaha N-Max motorbike, with his face concealed at all times by a crash helmet. Shortly after the Russian businessman parked his car in front of Anise Tapas and Bar, the man fired four shots from a firearm into the windshield of the vehicle.
The man inside the car, identified as a 43-year-old Russian national at that time, was struck in the chest and upper arm. Despite bleeding heavily, the victim remained conscious when police and medical workers arrived at the scene. He was subsequently taken for medical care, though there have been no updates on the victim’s condition from the police thus far.
Investigators now believe that the motive for the attack may be related to the Russian man’s business interests in Phuket, reports Khao Phuket, The Phuket News’ sister-newspaper in Thai language.
The Russian businessman, who turned 44 years old on Friday (June 9), is know to be involved in the restaurant business in Phuket
