Police Bust Russian-Ukrainian Poker Game in Phuket, Thailand

Despite the ongoing conflict in their homelands, Russian and Ukrainian poker players played poker at the same table in Thailand.

Busted

At 1:45 a.m. on Wednesday, March 20, a group of detectives from the Phuket City Police Station raided a home on Thepkrasattri Road in the Ratchada sub-district of Phuket Town. They had received a tip that some foreigners were using the home for illicit gaming.

It took the cops a while to see the door open after they had been watching the residence. When they finally got inside, they saw a group of Russians and a Ukrainian playing poker at what looked like a casino table. The 318 chips (equivalent to about 79,600 baht), the hourglass, the dealer button, the three decks of cards, and the poker table were all seized by the police once the players were apprehended.

The individuals busted in the illicit gambling den were Ukrainian dealer Mr. Oleksandr Shpetny, Russian Ms. Ekaterina Morozova, Russian Mr. Ruslan Kolontyrski, Russian Mr. Rodion Elonov, and Mr. Evgeni Vlegzhanin.

For further interrogation, the five suspects were sent to the Phuket Provincial Police Investigation Division.

The residence was always well secured, so the cops had attempted to raid this group of gamers previously without success. The players also utilized chips rather than cash or cryptocurrency to make it more challenging for the authorities to apprehend them.

The authorities brought charges against Mr. Shpetny and Ms. Morozova for their alleged roles in operating an illegal bookmaking operation and accepting bets on poker games for profit.

Meanwhile, Mr. Vlegzhanin, Mr. Elonov, and Mr. Kolondyrski were indicted for participating in an unlawful poker game involving money. Despite admissions from Mr. Shpetny, Mr. Vlegzhanin, Mr. Elonov, and Mr. Kolondyrski, Ms. Morozova denied involvement.

This incident shows how far people are willing to go amid escalating tensions, even if it means doing illegal things in other countries and becoming more desperate and ridiculous.