Police have arrested four Russians living in Phuket who are wanted in Switzerland and the United States on multiple charges of using ransomware to demand payments totalling US$16 million baht.
The men aged 27 to 39 were taken into custody on Sunday from separate residences, villas with swimming pools, in Muang and Thalang districts of the southern island province, Pol Lt Gen Trairong Phiwpan, head of the Cyber Crime Investigation Bureau, said on Monday.
Police also seized about 40 items as evidence, including notebook computers and mobile phones. Police withheld the four mens' names.
Pol Lt Gen Trairong said the four suspects allegedly used ransomware to attack 17 companies in Switzerland between April 30, 2023 and Oct 26, 2024. They demanded payment in exchange for the codes to unlock the hacked computer systems.
They also allegedly sent threats via email and phone calls to victims who refused to pay. The messages included threats to expose or sell stolen data.
Pol Lt Gen Trairong said the four suspects allegedly attacked about 1,000 parties worldwide and caused about US$16 million in damages, more than 500 million baht, in total.
The raids and arrests were in response to requests from authorities in the US and Switzerland. The four men will be extradited to answer the charges in the two countries.
