The two wanted Swedes have been apprehended in Cherng Talay, a district north of The Lantern, where the pair allegedly murdered a former business partner last night then fled.


PHUKET: This is Tommy Viktor Suderlund, wanted by Phuket police for questioning over the brutal murder of another Swedish man at a luxury gated community on Phuket last night.

Suderlund, 26, and a companion, Johan Hellbacken, 36, are thought to be still on Phuket. The men are armed and may be dangerous if confronted, Phuket police warned today.

The mother of Maksim Schantz, 25, the man who was stabbed in the throat last night at The Lantern estate in Phuket City, flew to Phuket from Pattaya today to identify the body of her son at Vachira Phuket Hospital in Phuket City.

The two wanted men are known to have a history of involvement in call centre scams in Pattaya and are believed to have fallen out with Mr Schantz.

A nationwide alert for the two men wanted on Phuket has gone out to airports and border crossings.

Phuket police have ruled out robbery as a motive for the killing and dismissed a report that up to 12 Thais were involved.

The man whose motorcycle was stolen as the Swedes escaped through a hole in a fence at The Lantern told today of his surprise at events last night.

Pissanu Nuikaow, 40, had finished his prayers at a local mosque for Ramadan and was outside in the lane near his home, in the soi that runs alongside The Lantern.

Khun Pissanu said that he kept six rabbits at home and one had escaped, so he was sitting on his unstarted pink Fino and using its headlamp to scan the lane from side to side.

''I heard a noise [the men bursting through the cladding above the wall surrounding The Lantern] and then suddenly, these two men appeared out of the dark. They were tall men, not Thai.

''Both had long-sleeved shirts and long trousers, and one was wearing a backpack. One man was carrying a gun. He pointed it at my head and said: 'Get off the bike.' His Thai was not very good.

''Then he lifted his foot and kicked me off the bike. He pointed the gun at me and said: 'Don't move, don't move.'

''The other man had a knife. He picked up the bike and started it and then the guy with the gun hopped on the back. They turned left [into Phuket's main Thepkasattri Highway, heading off Phuket] at the end of the soi.''

Khun Pissanu ran back to his house and pursued the men in his car, but eventually gave up.

Today he identified Tommy Suderlund from a passport photo as the man who pointed a gun at his head.