German tenant 'high on cannabis' arrested over damaging rental house in Thailand

A notorious German hacker has been arrested for allegedly trashing a rented villa in Thailand while high on cannabis.

Tech developer Kai Enderes, 27, from Donauworth, was said to have smoked marijuana before wrecking the property at the Villa Maharaj housing estate in Krabi.

The German had broken up with his Thai girlfriend two months ago before reportedly hurling furniture across the living room and ripping paintings and light fixtures from the walls on August 25.

Neighbours said they were terrified as they heard him shattering the windows and smashing tiles and electrical appliances over the past two days.

The tenant then disappeared before returning to continue his rampage on Wednesday afternoon.

Police dragged him out of the house following a complaint from the property owner, Phatlada Thipsurat, who said he resumed destroying windows and furniture inside.

Bodycam footage shows officers tackling the German, who was taking a selfie video while chanting. They hauled him out of the villa and onto a police truck as he allegedly recited Arabic prayers.

He was charged with public intoxication and damaging property belonging to another person before being handed over for further legal proceedings.

Police Colonel Sutthiphak Khomsakhon, superintendent of Mueang Krabi Police Station, said cops rushed to the scene after being alerted that Kai had returned.

He said: ‘I ordered investigators, alongside patrol officers and Krabi Immigration officers, to apprehend the German man after he returned to the scene once again.

‘He was found in a second-floor bedroom. We asked him to open the door, but he refused to comply.

‘We opened the door ourselves and found him standing inside, constantly muttering to himself while filming a video of himself.

‘We managed to restrain him and took him into custody to calm him down while waiting for further questioning.'

Police Lieutenant Colonel Chawanin Witthayajetsadathanaphat, deputy superintendent of investigations at Mueang Krabi Police Station, said Kai is believed to have been under the influence of drugs during his rampage.

The police chief said: ‘He was incoherent when we arrested him and appeared to be heavily intoxicated and under the influence of drugs.

‘He was extremely agitated and difficult to restrain, and several officers were injured during the process. That was why officers had to enter the house and apprehend him.

‘He appeared to be high on marijuana, although we have not yet determined exactly what substance he had taken. We found marijuana residue and paraphernalia, as well as beer bottles and alcohol scattered around the house.

‘We have not yet confirmed whether any other drugs were involved.'

The officer said that the suspect would face charges for property damage and public disorder while intoxicated, and any further punishment will be determined by the court.

Police had previously said that before his violent outburst, Kai was wanted on a criminal case and was awaiting a court date at Krabi Provincial Court. They declined to disclose further details.

Property agent Fern said Kai had earlier apologised over his previous rampage and vowed to pay for the damage before resuming his destructive spree.

She said: 'He apologised, but he was hallucinating and appeared completely out of it. He admitted that he caused the damage but said he did not understand why he had done it. He could not even remember what he had done or recognise my face.

‘CCTV footage showed him smoking cannabis at the back of the house. He later removed the camera after realising it was still recording, while the other cameras had already been destroyed. Cannabis was the only drug we found in the house, but I personally do not believe cannabis alone explains how disturbed he became or why he destroyed the entire house.'

Fern said officers were assessing the total damage caused, which was earlier estimated at around 500,000 baht.

Kai is a German software architect, IT developer and online entrepreneur.

He became publicly known in Germany in 2021 for his connection to Attila Hildmann, a German conspiracy theorist and extremist.

Hildmann, a former German vegan chef and businessman, became a far-right figure, spreading anti-government, anti-Covid and antisemitic content before fleeing to Turkey in 2020 after German authorities issued a warrant for his arrest.

Kai reportedly infiltrated Hildmann's operation as a mole while working in IT for him, secretly collecting evidence about Hildmann and his far-right network.

He eventually obtained around two terabytes of data and passed it to the hacker collective Anonymous, with parts later shared with German authorities and the media.

However, accessing and removing Hildmann's private data may itself have been illegal, and German authorities were investigating Kai over possible violations of data-protection laws.