Phuket: Kazakh man detained for shooting Russian

A Kazakh man has been arrested on suspicion of shooting and injuring a Russian man in a gun attack in the Thalang district in the north of Phuket province, Thailand, on Wednesday.

The man was identified as Artur Legay. He was arrested by immigration police at Phuket International Airport, serving Phuket Province, on Thursday morning.

According to the Bangkok Post, the man came from Kazakhstan, a country in Central Asia. He was staying at a hotel in Tambon Choeng Thale.

On Wednesday, a Russian man who was sitting in a car was seriously injured in a gun attack near Laguna Phuket at around 11.45 a.m. Subsequently, the Phuket 191 emergency response centre received a report about the incident.

According to witnesses and CCTV footage, a car arrived in front of the cafe near Laguna Phuket. The Russian man was sitting inside the car. Subsequently, a man, whose face was covered, arrived on a Honda PCX motorcycle and approached the car. He fired four shots with a gun at the man sitting inside the car. Later on, he fled from the spot. People took the Russian man in the vehicle and rushed him to Thalang Hospital.

The man inside the car was identified as Dmitry Aleynikov, a 44-year-old Russian national. He has injured his chest, right armpit, and left arm due to the gunshots. Reportedly, the Russian man is alive, but he is in a coma.

When police started the investigation, they arrested Artur Legay, suspected of shooting and injuring the Russian man. The police officer found a jacket, shoes, gloves, and a weapon near a nearby river near the crime scene. Further investigation of the matter is underway.

Earlier this month, Phuket witnessed another incident when two foreigners tried to pilfer cannabis from a local pharmacy.