A Russian man wanted in connection with a sex act filmed in the back of a moving pickup truck in Phuket has been arrested at Suvarnabhumi airport, police said on Thursday.
The suspect, identified only as Georgii, 23, was detained by immigration officers while attempting to leave the country. He was later handed over to Phuket police for legal proceedings.
Authorities said Georgii was believed to be the man seen in a viral video showing a couple engaging in a sex act on the bed of a pickup truck as it drove along the Phuket bypass road in Muang district on Wednesday night.
The 15-second clip shows a foreign man holding a woman from behind while she grips a rope tied to the bar of the moving vehicle.
Investigators later identified the woman as a 42-year-old Thai resident of Phuket. She told police she was paid 1,000 baht to take part in the recording, which was intended for Russian audiences.
Police said Georgii left Phuket shortly after the video surfaced and travelled to Suvarnabhumi airport in Samut Prakan. Immigration officers intercepted him at around 3:45pm on Thursday and questioned him before arranging his transfer back to Phuket.
Pol Lt Col Ekachai Siri, chief of the Phuket tourist police, said the suspects could face charges of public indecency. He added that if the footage was found to have been produced and distributed online, prosecution under the Computer Crime Act was also possible.
Pol Col Chatree Chukaew, chief of the Muang Phuket police station, recommended that Georgii’s visa be revoked and his name placed on a blacklist to prevent him from re-entering the country.
He said investigators had also discovered that the suspect had previously uploaded explicit material to social media platforms.
Under Thai law, committing an obscene act in a public place carries a maximum fine of 5,000 baht.
