Five Indian nationals were arrested on July 28 over the alleged kidnapping and ransom of three Indian tourists in Pattaya, with police alleging the group acted on instructions from a Pakistani mastermind based in Dubai.
The arrests follow the rescue of three Indian tourists from a townhouse in Pattaya where police said they had allegedly been held captive while their families were asked to pay a ransom.
Police from Pattaya City Police Station and Chon Buri Immigration arrested the five suspects at a hotel in Bangkok as they waited to board flights out of Thailand. They were later transferred to Pattaya City Police Station for questioning.
The accused were identified as 38 year old Avtar Singh, 38 year old Jagjit Singh, 24 year old Rambalak Kumar, 37 year old Sukhbir Singh and 27 year old Kulra Singh, all Indian nationals. According to police, all five confessed to the offences during questioning.
Earlier in the investigation, police believed the group comprised four Pakistani nationals and one Indian national. However, following the arrests, investigators now allege all five suspects are Indian nationals who acted under the direction of a Pakistani organiser based in Dubai.
The Pakistani mastermind, police allege, supplied the victims’ flight details and passport information before instructing the group to carry out the kidnapping and extortion.
Police said the suspects were instructed to collect the victims after they arrived in Thailand before assaulting them and attempting to extort cryptocurrency, which investigators said was to be transferred to the alleged organiser’s digital wallet.
The suspects allegedly kept any cash found on the victims and were provided with airline tickets to leave Thailand in an attempt to evade arrest.
Police have charged the accused with jointly demanding ransom through unlawful detention and threats of violence, armed robbery involving weapons and a vehicle, and jointly depriving others of their liberty.
In a similar case, an Iranian man was arrested after posing as a police officer and extorting US$300 from two Indian men on Sukhumvit Road in Pattaya.
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