In Thailand, two Russians from the Cryptus information crypto project team were victims of an armed robbery, losing $20,000 in cash and $25,000 worth of cryptocurrencies. The robbers were Russian-speaking. Phuket News concerning the police reported this.
The attack was reported to have taken place at Soi Cherng Talay 16 at around 1:00 am on Sunday 11 December. According to the police report, the tourists suffered numerous bruises due to the attack. The Russians told the law enforcement officers that the attackers were Russian-speaking, but they had not been familiar with them before.
As reported, three armed men were waiting for the Russians near the apartments in the Bang Tao beach area. Two Russians were forced into an SUV, tied up, and taken to a secluded place, where they were forced to hand over cash and passwords to an electronic wallet that stored cryptocurrency.
The news about the attack and armed extortion did not become public property immediately, but only after last Monday Leo | Cryptus, who introduced himself as the co-creator and leading media project Cryptus, published a post summarizing the events on his Telegram account.
Here’s a quote from the channel: “My team and I are currently living in Phuket. 2 days ago there was an armed robbery with the kidnapping of my partners. At this stage, we wrote a statement to the police and gave information about the alleged organizer of the kidnapping. The kidnappers threatened them with guns and knives and tied their hands. As a result, $25,000 was stolen through extortion. We are currently preparing a press release for the mass media with a detailed description of the situation, a recording of the conversation with the militant, and photographs of (damage caused by) the beatings. I would like to ask you to publish (this) data in your community, I think it will be useful for the people of Phuket to know that there is a gang on the island that is tracking down guys with crypto and kidnapping them.”
The author called on everyone who cares to help spread the news about the attack. The victims have already contacted the police, the investigation is ongoing.