PATTAYA, Thailand (1 Mar 2007) -- Police have increased the reward from $3,000 to $15,000 for the capture of the gunman who killed two young female tourists in Thailand. Tatiana Tsimfer, 30, and Liubov Svirkova, 25, were savagely gunned down last Saturday in front of their hotel as they relaxed on the beach waiting to watch the sunrise. Alarmed that the murders could damage Thailand's tourism industry, government officials and state-controlled news media in Thailand intially colluded to portray the victims as prostitutes and drug dealers. But Russian authorities later confirmed that the women were ordinary tourists who worked as telephone operators in Kemerovo. The women, who arrived on February 16 with a package tour group, were on their first holiday in Thailand, a popular winter travel destination for tens of thousands of Russians. No motive Over 100 police detectives have been called in to Pattaya from throughout Thailand to track down the killer but to date, there are no suspects. Police have told the media that the crime will be difficult to solve because there appears to be no motive. No money was stolen and there was no evidence of a struggle at the crime scene. Police have speculated the murders may be connected with turf wars between violent Thai gangs and the Russian mafia, which is known to have a significant presence in Pattaya. © CDNN - CYBER DIVER NEWS NETWORK | 
