According to the revelations of the Thai police, the murder of the German real estate broker is linked to a mafia network led by a German in Pattaya.
See: A German missing in Thailand was found dead in a freezer
Nong Prue police station officers arrested a German man at a nightclub in Bangkok’s On Nut district on Tuesday night for his involvement in the murder of a German businessman.
Hans Peter Mack, 62, a German property tycoon, disappeared from his home in Chon Buri province on July 4, sparking an investigation.
After a lengthy search, Thai police discovered Mack’s body dismembered and stored in a large freezer in a rental house in Pattaya.
Nicole Frevel, a 52-year-old German woman who rented the house, claimed she was unaware of the murder.
She said she was forced to keep the freezer in the house and she didn’t know what was in it.
Before being questioned by the police, Ms. Frevel was injured and admitted to hospital.
After interviewing local residents, officers discovered that two other people lived where the victim’s body was found, another German named Olaf Thorsten Brinkmann and a disabled woman.
The neighbor also revealed that a German woman, later identified as Petra Christl Grundgreif, was also close to the three people.
Following further investigation, officers issued arrest warrants for three suspects, namely two Germans, Olaf Thorsten Brinkmann, 52, Petra Christl Grundgreif, 54, and a Pakistani, Zahrouk Kareem Uddin, 27 years old.
At 3:20 p.m. yesterday, Grundgreif surrendered to the police.
She appeared distressed and became furious when Thai reporters approached her to interview and photograph her.
See: Woman arrested in Thailand in German murder case
Grundgreif’s legal team arrived at the scene, and no information about the ensuing questioning has been made public.
Later, officers located and apprehended the second suspect, Brinkmann, at a nightclub in Bangkok’s On Nut district.
He was quickly taken to Nong Prue Police Station for questioning that lasted more than five hours into the night.
At a press conference last night, Royal Thai Police (RTP) Deputy Commissioner Surachate Hakparn briefed the media on the developments in the case.
He said police had gathered enough evidence to arrest and charge the suspects, although they denied any involvement.
Surachate explained that the leader of the criminal gang was Brinkmann and that the motive for the murder was simple: the gang simply wanted to make a financial profit from the victim.
Surachate revealed that Brinkmann had positioned himself as a powerful mafia figure in Chon Buri province and especially in Pattaya.
He intimidated foreigners running businesses in Thailand, demanding to be paid for their protection.
If one of them refused to comply, he instructed Grundgreif to lure him and then kill him.
During the first questioning at the start of the case, Petra Christl Grundgreif had been introduced as a real estate broker and had told police that she had met Mr Mack on July 4 to discuss the potential sale of a villa with swimming pool in Koh Samui and a boxing stadium in the district of Bang Lamung, for a value of several hundred million baht.
It was actually a way to lure the victim into the fatal trap.
See: Suspicious disappearance of a German in Pattaya, Thailand
The deputy commissioner also assured that the Thai police will carry out a thorough investigation to target all foreign mafias and illegal foreign groups, to ensure the safety of foreigners and locals in Thailand.
Source: The Thaiger
