Two Britons Arrested In Pattaya Over Alleged Cryptocurrency Robbery
PATTAYA, Thailand — Two British nationals have been arrested in Pattaya following allegations that they held a fellow British tourist at knifepoint and coerced him into transferring thousands of pounds worth of cryptocurrency. The incident has prompted a swift police response and an ongoing investigation into the illicit digital asset transfer, The Sun reported.
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The alleged robbery occurred on the evening of July 15, when the 24-year-old victim, identified only by his initials D.A.T., was invited to a sixth-floor apartment at the Tudor Court Condominium to watch a World Cup semi-final match. According to police reports, the victim had previously discussed cryptocurrency trading with the suspects and had shown them his digital portfolio, inadvertently revealing that he held assets of considerable value.
The situation escalated when one of the men, later identified as a 22-year-old British national known as “Maz,” allegedly brandished a knife. The suspect reportedly confiscated the victim’s passport and car keys, bound his hands with adhesive tape, and forced him to authorize an Ethereum transfer from his digital wallet. Following the completion of the transaction, the suspects allegedly returned the victim’s personal belongings and allowed him to leave the premises unharmed.
Deeply distressed, the victim reported the incident to local authorities shortly after midnight on July 16. Police Lieutenant Colonel Sudej Imjai noted that the victim was badly shaken at the time of his statement, which initially limited his ability to provide a highly detailed account of each suspect’s specific actions. However, leveraging local closed-circuit television (CCTV) footage, investigators successfully identified a 22-year-old British national, N.A., who was subsequently apprehended at the condominium where the alleged offense occurred.
Building on this momentum, police tracked down the second suspect, identified as 22-year-old British national N.E., at a hotel located on a street near Pattaya Beach. Authorities allege that N.E. is the individual who threatened the victim with the knife and restrained him, while N.A. remained present and participated in the crime.
Both men have been formally charged with joint armed robbery, joint unlawful detention or confinement, and the joint unauthorized use of another person’s electronic payment instrument. In addition to these severe charges, N.E. faces a separate immigration violation for overstaying his permission to remain in Thailand by 191 days. While both suspects have denied the allegations of robbery and assault, they acknowledged being the individuals named in the arrest warrants and have been handed over to investigators for further legal processing.
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As part of the ongoing investigation, authorities have seized the mobile devices of both suspects to digitally trace the cryptocurrency transactions and gather further forensic evidence. Police Lieutenant Colonel Sudej indicated that investigators currently believe this to be an isolated incident, rather than the work of a broader, organized criminal network specifically targeting tourists for their digital assets.
-Thailand News (TN)
