Poisonous potions land Russian tour boss in jail

A RUSSIAN tour company boss is behind bars for allegedly selling bottles of liquor containing the pickled remains of poisonous animals including king cobras, centipedes and scorpions.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, the concoctions themselves turned out be poisonous.

Pattaya Police arrested Andrey Akulov, 40, on July 31 after receiving reports that one man died and others suffered strong allergic reactions from drinking his bizarre tinctures.

Mr Akulov allegedly claimed the concoctions boosted strength and sexual prowess. When police raided his offices in Pattaya they found 220 75cl bottles containing the potions, which the Russian had ordered from Laos.

Mr Akulov said he sold the bottles for 2,400 baht each to foreigners and Thais.

His “Intourist” tour company was a front for various other illegal activities, police said. As well as the potions, police found several fake Nokia cellphones at his offices.

During the search, a foreign tourist wandered in asking to change money. The police promptly added exchanging money without a license to the growing list of charges the Russian will face.

Later the same day, police searched another of Mr Akulov’s offices, finding more than 600,000 baht in foreign currency and contraband.