Russian couple missing, feared kidnapped on Phuket

PHUKET: After a series of dramatic phone calls with relatives at home, it’s feared that a Russian couple in Phuket may have been kidnapped.



By Anton Makhrov

Friday 14 March 2014, 05:38PM

Russian citizen Alexei Slabinskiy came to Phuket in April 2013 together with his girlfriend Yana Strizheus. The 39-old finance broker told friends and family that he was headed to Thailand for a holiday, and to learn Thai.

But their romantic life in Kamala may have turned into a nightmare on March 7 this year.

The Russian couple called their relatives claiming that they were in trouble in Phuket, and urgently needed USD100,000 to solve some unexpected problems. After the call, Aleksei’s and Yana’s cell phones went silent, and their concerned families raised the alarm.

Then, yesterday (March 13), Yana called her sister in Russia and told her that she had been kidnapped.

“If I don’t arrive back in [the Russian city of] Vladivostok tomorrow, that means I’m already dead,” her sister quoted Yana as saying in a whisper.

According to the sister, the conversation lasted for only 30 seconds, and after that Yana’s phone went dead again.

The Russian Embassy in Bangkok, along with Royal Thai police and Russian-speaking police volunteers have already been informed about the case.

Kamala police officers confirmed to The Phuket News that an investigation into the missing couple’s whereabouts is already under way.

Alexei and Yana’s relatives are expected to land in Phuket this weekend to assist with the search.

If anyone has any information about Alexei and Yana, please contact Royal Thai Police, email alex-yana-lost@mail.com or call:

Andrei Smirnov: +66 82 277 3502 (English & Russian)

Tatiana Novoselova: +7 908 442 26 48 (Russian)

Dmitriy Voronov: +7 985 997 46 25 (Russian)