The Royal Thai Police have arrested a 25-year-old Austrian man in Krabi for allegedly killing a Russian man with a Jet Ski off Karon Beach in Phuket on Tuesday. Mr. Austrian David Robert Herbst, 25, was apprehended Friday.
His arrest comes after Phuket police were notified of the fatal accident by a food stall vendor near the Cafe del Mar Phuket. The vendor was alerted by an unidentified tourist who provided a video of the incident, which the vendor then shared with the police.
Upon receiving the information, the Pak Bang Water Rescue Center’s officials and police rushed to the location to search at approximately 7 pm. A local fisherman discovered the body of the 58-year-old man at approximately 12.45 am.
His body was taken to the Phuket Hospital for a postmortem examination. An initial postmortem examination indicated he died from drowning, with no evidence of being struck by a hard object, and no broken bones were found.
According to immigration Phuket, the Russian man staying at Lae Lay Suites Karon in Phuket was alone and planned to remain in Thailand until Sunday.
A hotel staff member observed him walking towards Karon Beach at approximately 5:15 pm for a swim after he had returned from the hotel seeing tour to Tiger Kingdom Phuket.
Phuket police then analyzed CCTV footage of the area and identified a foreign witness who gave the street vendor the video recording. The tourist verified that the jet ski had struck the Russian man before speeding away.
After taking the witness’s statement, the Phuket police obtained a court warrant, which led to the Austrian’s arrest in Krabi. The Austrian man denied any knowledge of the accident. He has been transported back to Immigration Phuket for formal charges.
Foreigners Arrested in Koh Phangan
In other police news, three foreign nationals were apprehended on the resort Island of Koh Phangan for money laundering, operating a business using a Thai national as a nominee, and selling and possessing drugs.
Pol Lt Gen Panumart Boonyalak, the commissioner of the Immigration Bureau, said their arrests were tied to an earlier investigation following the apprehension of a British drug suspect identified as Peter Hull in Koh Samui on March 1st.
Hull had admitted to police he acquired drugs from Mr Federico Carlo Eugenio Pistolesi, a 36-year-old Italian national. He was apprehended in Koh Phangan Friday and charged with money laundering, the possession and sale of drugs such as ecstasy, cocaine, and methamphetamine.
Police seized his car and bank account, which had a balance of over 6 million baht, and a two-rai land plot valued at 8 million baht registered to Pittaya Land Company.
Mr. Federico’s arrest led to the apprehension of two other foreigners, French National Mr. Roman Malik Bertagnol, 37, and Russian national Anton Zaozerov, 39, who were found to be customers of the Italian suspect.
Pol Lt Gen Panumart said that Mr. Zaozerov and his wife were also discovered to be conducting a cleaning business under a registered Thai nominee, which is illegal for foreign nationals. He told reporters that he has directed all divisions to crack down on illegal foreign businesses operating under Thai nominees and crimes that impact tourism.
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Phuket Police Say Russian Death a Possible Suicide
Geoff Thomas is an award winning journalist known for his sharp insights and no-nonsense reporting style. Over the years he has worked for Reuters and the Canadian Press covering everything from political scandals to human interest stories. He brings a clear and direct approach to his work.
