BANGKOK, August 18 (RIA Novosti) – A Russian citizen, accused of being part of a large criminal organization in Russia during the 1990s and 2000s, has been detained in the Thai coastal city of Pattaya, where he had been hiding for four years, a representative of the Russian Embassy in Thailand told RIA Novosti on Monday.
"Russian citizen Mark Yakovlevich Lunev, born in 1974, who has been on an international wanted list since 2010 on the accusation of active participation in the activity of a Novosibirsk gang known under the name of Trunov Gang, was detained by Thai police on August 13 in the resort town of Pattaya at the request of Interpol," Vladimir Sosnov, the consular head of the Russian Embassy in Thailand, said.
Lunev is facing charges for participating in a criminal gang and blackmail.
The Trunov Gang was one of Russia's largest criminal organizations, responsible for multiple crimes, including murders, banditry, possession and trade of illegal weapons and explosives, and other crimes between the late 1980s and 2000s. The gang was broken up in 2009 and its leaders sentenced to long prison terms. Some of its members also fled abroad.
Lunev was living in Thailand with his family and was considered an honest businessman in Pattaya, where he also joined a charity.
Thai authorities are considering deporting Lunev to Russia.
