Arrests made after shocking find of body in deep freezer in Thai resort, transfer of €78 million

 

BERLIN – A German suspect has been arrested after the body of a 62-year-old German man was found in a deep freezer in the Thai resort of Pattaya, according to local media reports.

Investigators found the suspect, who was wanted on an arrest warrant, in the capital Bangkok on Tuesday evening, the news portals The Pattaya News, The Thaiger and Khaosod, among others, reported.

He and two other suspects are accused of being involved in the killing of the businessman and trying to hide his body.

The body of the 62-year-old, who had been missing since the beginning of July, was found dismembered in a freezer on a property in Nong Prue in Pattaya in Chonburi province on Monday. The Thai police had previously questioned the arrested German about the man’s disappearance and released him.

After viewing surveillance camera footage, the investigators finally targeted three main suspects, according to the media. In addition to the German man, these were a woman, also from Germany, who had turned herself in at a Pattaya police station on Tuesday accompanied by a lawyer, and a 27-year-old man of Pakistani origin. Local media reported that he is suspected of helping to transport the body.

The businessman’s death is believed to be related to extortion, according to investigators. The murder had been planned and well prepared by the gang for over a month, Khaosod quoted Surachate Hakparn, deputy chief of the national police, as saying.

A total of three million baht (€78,230, $86,085) had been transferred from the 62-year-old’s account to ten target accounts. This led the authorities to assume that there might be other people involved in the plot.

Pattaya attracts visitors from all over the world mainly because of its nightlife. Many Germans also live permanently in the area.