British tourist held hostage and has crypto stolen by acquaintances while watching World Cup game in Thailand

A British tourist was reportedly held hostage by two countrymen who stole his cryptocurrency while watching a World Cup game.

Dion Adam Timberlake, 24, was invited by an acquaintance with the nickname 'Maz' to watch the England-Argentina match at the Tudor Court Condo in Pattaya, Thailand, on July 15.

He arrived at the sixth-floor room at around 10:30 pm local time, and found another British man already there with Maz.

One of the pair allegedly asked to borrow his mobile phone under the pretence of exchanging Telegram details to discuss cryptocurrency trading, before pulling out a knife to threaten Dion.

They took the terrified Brit's passport and car keys, then taped his hands and forced him to transfer Ethereum coins worth 9,782 GBP from his crypto wallet.

After receiving the money, they allegedly returned his belongings and allowed him to leave uninjured.

Dion said he went to the police station shortly after midnight on July 16 to report the alleged robbery.

Cops reviewed CCTV footage and identified one of the suspects as British national Nisar Armaan, 22, who was arrested at the condo where the suspected robbery took place.

Police later tracked down the second British suspect, Maz, whose real name is Nolan Emmanuel, 22, at a hotel in Soi Phra Tamnak 5.

The two men were accused of 'jointly committing armed robbery, jointly unlawfully detaining or confining another person or otherwise depriving that person of physical liberty, and jointly using another person's electronic payment instrument for the purpose of paying for goods or services'.

Nolan faces additional charges for overstaying his visa in Thailand by 191 days.

Police said both suspects denied the allegations but acknowledged that they were the individuals named in the arrest warrants. They were then handed over to investigators for further legal proceedings.

Police Lieutenant Colonel Sudej Imjai said: ‘Before the incident, the alleged victim showed the suspects his cryptocurrency portfolio and discussed crypto trading with them, allowing them to know he held digital assets of considerable value.

‘The incident took place in a room on the sixth floor of Tudor Court Condo, where Nisar Armaan was staying.

‘Armaan's girlfriend was present during the arrest, but at the time of the incident only the three men were in the room.

‘The man the victim knew by the nickname 'Maz' was identified as Nolan Emmanuel, who was also his friend.

‘The alleged victim stated that Emmanuel threatened him with a knife, tied his wrists with duct tape and forced him to transfer cryptocurrency, while Armaan remained inside the room and took part in the offence.

‘The alleged victim was still shaken and was unable to provide detailed accounts of each suspect's role. However, he confirmed that Maz was the person who threatened him with the knife, restrained him with duct tape and forced him to make the transfer.

‘Regarding the transferred digital assets, the inquiry officer seized both suspects' mobile phones as evidence and sent them to the relevant authorities to examine and trace the transactions.

‘From our investigation, we believe this was an isolated incident rather than a criminal network targeting tourists for their cryptocurrency, because the victim and the suspects knew each other beforehand and had met through mutual friends, while also communicating via the Telegram application before the incident.'

In April, British businessman Ashley James O'Brien, 34, was allegedly held at gunpoint by three fellow Brits who stole his Rolex and Bitcoin worth £250,000 after breaking into his rented villa on Koh Samui island.

Thai police issued arrest warrants on April 30 for Marco George Cameron Diamantis, 33, Myles Rees Lapierre, 35, and Samantha Dorothy Tilley, 38, who remain on the run.

Tourists are regularly attacked or caught up in crime, leading Pattaya to be dubbed 'Sin City'.

Embarrassed officials in the central government have launched tourism initiatives to attract families and rebrand Pattaya as a safe destination.
Authorities have also introduced safety measures, such as improved lighting and CCTV.

Despite some success in cleaning up the town's image, alcohol and sex remain its biggest draws, often leading to a high rate of crime and accidents.