BANGKOK, August 18 (RAPSI) - Russian national Mark Lunev suspected of participating in a criminal group that operated in Russia in the 1990s and the 2000s was arrested in Thailand, RIA Novosti reported on Monday.

Lunev, born in 1974, who has been on an international wanted list since 2010 on suspicion of participating in a Novosibirsk gang known as Trunov’s gang, was detained by Thai police on August 13 in Pattaya at the request of Interpol, Sosnov said.

Lunev is charged with participating in organized crime and extortion under Russian Criminal Code.

Trunov’s gang was one of the most violent and entrenched criminal groups in Russia at the time and the largest in the Novosibirsk region. The gang was active between the late 1980s and 2000s, its members are responsible for murders, armed robbery, illegal purchase, smuggling and carrying of weapons, ammunition and explosives. Most members of the gang were arrested in 2009. Its leaders were sentenced to long prison terms. Some members fled abroad.

Lunev lived in Thailand with his family and was believed to be a retired businessman by the community of Pattaya. He was an active member in a local Rotary Club charity.