The suspect, Amir, 33, is alleged to have supplied weapons to Colombian Fernando Estaid Guevara Sanchez, 39, to open fire on Ameer Mundher Mahmood, 24, in broad daylight
A British man has been arrested over the alleged contract killing of an Iraqi cartel member on the Thai island of Phuket.
The suspect, Amir, 33, is said to have supplied weapons to Colombian Fernando Estaid Guevara Sanchez, 39, to open fire on Ameer Mundher Mahmood, 24, from Sweden, in broad daylight on February 7. Fernando was arrested on suspicion of premeditated murder, illegal possession of a firearm and ammunition without permission, and carrying a firearm in public without reasonable cause.
Officers later identified the Brit as the person who allegedly supplied the guns for the gangland hit while Ameer was cleaning his motorcycle outside a hotel. Police tracked the Brit to a luxury apartment in the notorious coastal destination of Pattaya.
He was arrested with a warrant for ‘aiding and abetting premeditated murder and possessing and carrying firearms in a public place without permission’. Amir is heard in the video confirming his name before a knife is found at his bedside, along with two phones.
“I don’t have a gun, I don’t understand why, I don’t know anything about guns, man, I never did anything, there’s nothing here illegal, bro, I promise,” he tells police. As officers find a razor, he adds: “It’s for shaving.”
Police chief Natthasak Chaowanasai, head of the country’s Central Investigation Bureau (CIB), said Amir was ‘uncooperative’ and remanded in custody. The officer said: “The motive for the murder was a conflict of interest within an international cartel. The shooting caused panic in a public place where many tourists visit.
“After the gunman was arrested, further investigations revealed that this was not a personal dispute, but a systematic assassination, a contract killing, stemming from a severe disagreement within a major drug cartel abroad. The British suspect, Amir, was identified as a key figure who coordinated and supplied firearms to the Colombian gunman for the assassination.”
Officers said that Amir had spent several months lying low 600 miles north in Pattaya. Officers raided his rented home and seized ‘several pieces of evidence believed to be linked to the case’.
Lieutenant General Chaowanasai added: “During initial questioning, Amir denied all charges, claiming no involvement in the murder. He was subsequently transferred to Patong district station for legal proceedings and further investigation into the remaining members of the transnational network.”
CCTV footage previously surfaced showing the suspected Colombian assassin, Fernando, wearing a black shirt, walking over to the deceased before shooting him several times. Ameer was rushed to Patong Hospital but died of serious injuries, including a bullet wound that exited his torso. Police arrived at the scene, where they found bloodstains and spent bullet casings scattered across the road.
They reviewed security camera footage, which allegedly showed the suspect speeding back to his accommodation near Phuket International Airport. Officers raided the hotel and arrested Fernando on charges of premeditated murder, illegal possession of a firearm and ammunition without permission, and carrying a firearm in public without reasonable cause.
Police Major General Sinlert Sukhum from the Phuket police said that the alleged gunman, Fernando, arrived on the island on January 7 and was due to leave on Qatar Airways flight QR843 on February 8, a day after the suspected contract killing.
The officer said: “We believe that the suspect was hired from abroad to murder this Iraqi man, while he was visiting Phuket.”
