Three British nationals and one Danish national have been arrested in Thailand after a violent robbery in which a British man was allegedly lured to an apartment, tied up and beaten.
The victim, a cryptocurrency trader, had been on a night out in Bangkok with a group of tourists and was invited back to an apartment to continue partying, police said. When he arrived, he was tied up with rope and tape, beaten and attacked with a stun gun.
The man told police he was forced to contact his girlfriend, a Thai national, during the attack to tell her that he planned to travel with friends, and that they would be visiting to pick up some of his valuables. CCTV footage taken in the hallway of the apartment where she was staying showed two of the alleged attackers collecting a large bag of his belongings.
It is alleged that, in total, the group stole cash and valuables worth about 3m baht (£64,000).
Police said two British men, one British woman and one Danish man, all aged in their 20s, have been charged with several offences including armed robbery, carrying out a joint attack that caused physical or mental harm, using violent force to detain or imprison, and conspiring to carry weapons without reasonable cause.
They deny the charges, according to Thai media.
Thai police gave their first names as Mohamed, 25, Saeed, 24, and Sumya, 21, who are all British, and Abdullah, 27, who is Danish. They had been in Thailand for no more than a few months, arriving at various dates since May.
Another British woman is wanted in connection with the case, but is believed to have left the country.
A government system under which hotels register guests led police to Pattaya, where they found three members of the group. Another suspect was arrested as she tried to leave Thailand at Suvarnabhumi airport in Bangkok.
In images published by Thai media, showing the apartment room where the man was apparently held, scraps of green rope and tape could be seen on a bed. Police said they seized mobile phones as well as cash, an Audemars Piguet watch and a Rolex watch.
The man had previously met the suspects while travelling in Phuket, police said.
“The British cryptotrader came to Thailand for travel. He met with the suspects. They went to the apartment together but he was attacked, detained and robbed,” said Rathachot Chotikun of Thailand’s immigration bureau.