PHUKET – Even though Russia and Ukraine are at war in their home countries, they gambled on the same poker table in Thailand.
A team of investigators from Phuket City Police Station raided a house on Thepkrasattri Road in Phuket Town’s Ratchada sub-district at 1:45 a.m. Wednesday, March 20. They had received information that the house was being used by a group of foreigners for illegal gambling.
The policemen watched the house for some time before they saw the door open. They then entered the house and found a group of Russian men and women and a Ukrainian man playing poker at a table set up like a casino. Police arrested the players and confiscated the evidence, including the poker table, three decks of cards, 318 chips (worth about 79,600 baht), a dealer button and an hourglass.
Mr. Oleksandr Shpetny, a Ukrainian national, who was the dealer, Mr. Evgeni Vlegzhanin, Mr. Rodion Elonov, Mr. Ruslan Kolontyrski, and Ms. Ekaterina Morozova, a Russian national. The five suspects were taken to the Phuket Provincial Police Investigation Division for further questioning.
The police had tried to raid this group of players before, but had been unsuccessful because the house was always heavily guarded. The players also used chips instead of cash or cryptocurrencies to make it harder for the police to catch them.
The police charged Mr. Shpetny and Ms. Morozova with “being a bookmaker and accepting bets on poker games for money illegally.” Mr. Vlegzhanin, Mr. Elonov, and Mr. Kolondyrski were charged with “participating in a poker game for money illegally.” Mr. Shpetny, Mr. Vlegzhanin, Mr. Elonov, and Mr. Kolondyrski confessed to the charges, but Ms. Morozova denied them.
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