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Australian Tourist Found Dead in Phuket Condo

An Australian tourist was found dead inside a condominium in Phuket, with police discovering a plate containing white powder near the body. The incident was reported at around 7.30pm on May 20, 2026, at a condominium in Karon subdistrict, Mueang district, Phuket.

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Police from Karon Police Station, led by Pol Lt Col Ekasak Khwanwan, deputy investigation inspector, attended the scene after receiving a report of a death inside the property. Officers informed Pol Col Patapee Srichai, superintendent of Karon Police Station, before carrying out an inspection of the room.

The deceased was later identified by authorities as Christopher Kazantzidis, 27, an Australian national. His body was found lying on the floor inside the condominium room.

Condominium staff told investigators they had last seen the tourist at approximately 12.20am on May 19, 2026. Staff later became suspicious and contacted the condominium owner to open the room, where Mr Kazantzidis was discovered dead before police were alerted.

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Initial checks at the scene found a plate containing white powder placed on a table close to the body. Police said there were no signs of a struggle or any physical assault.

Forensic officers were called to collect evidence from the room, while forensic doctors from Vachira Phuket Hospital will carry out a post-mortem examination. Authorities said the white powder would be sent for laboratory testing as part of the investigation.

Police have not confirmed the cause of death and said further examination and forensic analysis are required. Officers are also coordinating with the Australian embassy regarding the death and the next steps.

Amarin reported that the case remains under investigation, with authorities expected to await toxicology and forensic results before determining the circumstances surrounding the incident.

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Pictures courtesy of Amarin

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image.png Adapted by ASEAN Now Amarin 21 May 2026

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Gottfrid Star Member

Gottfrid

Advanced Member
5 hours ago, Nemises said:

That’s not really how the word tragedy works. It describes the outcome — an early, preventable death — not a moral judgement on whether you approve of the person’s actions.

I don´t need your approval! You are kin of my Nemesis.

Nemises Gold Member

Nemises

Advanced Member
8 minutes ago, Gottfrid said:

I don´t need your approval! You are kin of my Nemesis.

“Kin of my Nemesis” sounds like a rejected line from a medieval role-playing game 😂


Artisi Star Member

Artisi

Advanced Member
8 hours ago, Gottfrid said:

And the dealers and suppliers would have a lot of work if there were no users? Did you really think that through?

Did you think through the problem of dealer / user?

fredwiggy Star Member

fredwiggy

Advanced Member
14 hours ago, Nemises said:

If a 27-year-old dying overseas doesn’t qualify as tragic to you, that probably says more about you than him.

Some just don't have sympathy or empathy in their makeup, as it wasn't learned while young.

fredwiggy Star Member

fredwiggy

Advanced Member
11 hours ago, simon43 said:

Rubbish! The more druggies that are removed from the gene pool, the better the human race will evolve. If someone wants to take illegal drugs that can be fatal, then that's their choice. Sensible humans don't dabble in white powder.....

Some might feel that way, but the biggest killer is a legal white powder. Sugar. Many people get addicted while young, trying things out with their peers to fit in. Some can't walk away from that early encounter and it becomes part of their lives.

Just as sugar , alcohol and cigarettes addict many millions who's will power to give bad things up isn't strong, illegal drugs are also one of them.

It might not also be sensible to use anything that hurts our bodies, but looking at the amount of over prescribed legal drugs by doctors that also have many addicted and kill thousands yearly, it isn't just about being sensible but believing in what others tell you. Some of whom have PHD's.

I'm sure most if not all of us has lost a family member or close friend to drugs , alcohol, cigarettes or prescribed drugs, and it's a loss no matter what it looks like to others. My best friend now has Dementia from falling and hitting his head, while drunk, and the damage came from decades of daily drinking. Now he's in an assisted living facility where before he walked everywhere, including the Appalachian Trail.

My dad died from smoking 3 packs a day until passing at 79 from lung cancer. His addiction likely prevented him from living a lot more years. The problem isn't in those who should never try harmful things because of that addictive nature, but the people who supply them, besides weed, as it isn't the problem many think it is.

jacko45k Star Member

jacko45k

Advanced Member
17 hours ago, NanLaew said:

Not to worry. Reverting to 30-day visa-exempt entries will stop this sort of stuff.

The devil is in the detail.... some nationalities will now need Visas, when previously they did not.

Rams86 Gold Member

Rams86

Advanced Member
17 hours ago, NanLaew said:

Not to worry. Reverting to 30-day visa-exempt entries will stop this sort of stuff.

People will be staying indoors readying for the 29 days assault, where farangs let it all go on the eve of their departuture. If that's stupid then so is the law.

NanLaew Star Member

NanLaew

Advanced Member
58 minutes ago, jacko45k said:

The devil is in the detail.... some nationalities will now need Visas, when previously they did not.

My point in a nutshell. Some nationalities will see the need to get a Thai visa as an inconvenience that's not worth the hassle, and take their unhappy, social media addicted, drug craving and otherwise needy arses somewhere else instead.

Artisi Star Member

Artisi

Advanced Member
1 hour ago, fredwiggy said:

Some just don't have sympathy or empathy in their makeup, as it wasn't learned while young.

That stands out like dogs b#lls when they get older.

NanLaew Star Member

NanLaew

Advanced Member
15 hours ago, bannork said:

Posters could perhaps be quibbling over semantics,

I would describe this young man's death as sad, if he did indeed die of an overdose.

Somewhere there will be relatives grieving, no one should die at 27 even if it was caused by poor lifestyle choices.

Ask the relatives of Jimi Hendrix, Jim Morrison, Brian Jones, Janis Joplin, Amy Winehouse etc.

For me the word tragic encompasses a wider field, a tragedy, more people involved, the tragedy of the Middle East, for example, so much endless suffering.

Good points well made, thanks.

If only they could take their hopelessly sad lives somewhere else in the first place.

StarOfLight Senior Member

StarOfLight

Member
15 hours ago, Deserted said:

Probably Heroin.

Heroin or Ketamine. Chinese seem to keep Fentanyl precursor out of SEA

Sad for his family.

Never understood people doing hard drugs overseas. Such a risk even for possession.

Could have enjoyed a good time on pristine beaches, diving snorkeling, wildlife in parks even with a pretty lady or two. Instead, it's hard drugs. At 27 the drugs phase of life should be kinda over imo.

Feel about as sorry for him as farang hospitalized for scooter accident tbh

ChipButty Star Member

ChipButty

Advanced Member

Lets hope the dealer wasn't condo staff,

NanLaew Star Member

NanLaew

Advanced Member
1 hour ago, Rams86 said:

People will be staying indoors readying for the 29 days assault, where farangs let it all go on the eve of their departuture. If that's stupid then so is the law.

No. That's simply stupid.

Bruce Aussie Gold Member

Bruce Aussie

Advanced Member
21 hours ago, redwood1 said:

It takes quite a lot to kill a healthy 27-year-old....That white powder must have been very potent...

Or planted there

jacko45k Star Member

jacko45k

Advanced Member
1 minute ago, Bruce Aussie said:

Or planted there

Let us wait and see what the powder turns out to be, although I thought police would have the test kits for most drugs. My first thought was a Pulp Fiction type incident.

Gottfrid Star Member

Gottfrid

Advanced Member
3 hours ago, Artisi said:

Did you think through the problem of dealer / user?

Yeah, blame the outlets selling tobacco and alcohol as well for creating alcoholics and nicotine dependent people. The truth is, that it´s every individual's own choice that create the behavior pattern.

wmorris61 Explorer Member

wmorris61

Member
18 hours ago, Liverpool Lou said:

Very avoidable, indeed, but tragic?... I don't think so. Self-imposed damage does not constitute a tragedy..

And if it was your child would you still not think it tragic?

Front Row Silver Member

Front Row

Advanced Member
20 hours ago, SAFETY FIRST said:

This is what we need, more members who think outside the box.

Is that box from Dunkin Donuts?

Legal Lifeline Silver Member

Legal Lifeline

Forum Sponsor
18 hours ago, Nemises said:

A 27-year-old dying in a foreign country while on holiday is tragic to most normal people, regardless of how it happened.

My thoughts as well

A sad early end to a young life

Condolences to all his family and friends affected

RIP

Srikcir Ruby Member

Srikcir

Advanced Member
23 hours ago, redwood1 said:

It takes quite a lot to kill a healthy 27-year-old....That white powder must have been very potent...

Cocaine cut with fentanyl, exported from China throughout Asia?

Fentanyl is 50 times more potent than heroin and 100 times more potent than morphine.

emptypockets Platinum Member

emptypockets

Advanced Member
4 hours ago, fredwiggy said:

Just as sugar , alcohol and cigarettes addict many millions who's will power to give bad things up isn't strong, illegal drugs are also one of them.

I've got plenty of will power, it's the won't power that I struggle with.

fredwiggy Star Member

fredwiggy

Advanced Member
16 minutes ago, emptypockets said:

I've got plenty of will power, it's the won't power that I struggle with.

I'm happy I had it all my life, besides trying some things a few times like my friends did. Working out kept me away from most, and cigarettes made me sick smoking one after another one day at 16 so it stopped then and there. The rest was easy although it took awhile to stop a few.

Old Croc Star Member

Old Croc

Advanced Member
On 5/21/2026 at 10:29 AM, Georgealbert said:

Initial checks at the scene found a plate containing white powder placed on a table close to the body. Police said there were no signs of a struggle or any physical assault.

Amarin reported that the case remains under investigation, with authorities expected to await toxicology and forensic results before determining the circumstances surrounding the incident.

To me the tidiness of the room may give an indication of a setup. I think any investigation should be proceeding (CCTV, interviews, others in the room, tracing movements, etc), without awaiting toxicology and forensic results.

If foul play is found to exist after results emerge, the perpetrators and witnesses will be long gone.

Personally, I believe a tragedy is a blameless death by accident such as vehicular, zip line or parasailing. Not this, if it is self-harm. It's tragic for an individual's loved ones, but my sympathies lie with the innocents.

Liverpool Lou Star Member

Liverpool Lou

Advanced Member
3 hours ago, wmorris61 said:
21 hours ago, Liverpool Lou said:

Very avoidable, indeed, but tragic?... I don't think so. Self-imposed damage does not constitute a tragedy..

And if it was your child would you still not think it tragic

Absolutely, but then, none of my children have been so foolish as to get voluntarily involved in a stupid habit that would likely kill them in their 20s.

Nemises Gold Member

Nemises

Advanced Member
12 minutes ago, Liverpool Lou said:

Absolutely, but then, none of my children have been so foolish as to get voluntarily involved in a stupid habit that would likely kill them in their 20s.

Unless your kids are wearing a GoPro 24/7, you probably don’t know every decision they made in their 20s either. Most parents only know the edited highlights reel 😄

Liverpool Lou Star Member

Liverpool Lou

Advanced Member
4 minutes ago, Nemises said:

Unless your kids are wearing a GoPro 24/7, you probably don’t know every decision they made in their 20s either. Most parents only know the edited highlights reel 😄

I do know, as you do not know, that they did not get involved in deadly drugs and I don't need a GoPro to know that.

Katatonica Senior Member

Katatonica

Member
20 hours ago, Deserted said:

Probably Heroin.

Smack sold as coke was certainly common back in the 90's, quite possible in a region that produces opium but not coca.

Nemises Gold Member

Nemises

Advanced Member
15 minutes ago, Liverpool Lou said:

I do know, as you do not know, that they did not get involved in deadly drugs and I don't need a GoPro to know that.

You know what they chose to tell you. Don’t kid yourself into believing any parent knows every single thing their adult kids did in their 20s.

Liverpool Lou Star Member

Liverpool Lou

Advanced Member
1 minute ago, Nemises said:
17 minutes ago, Liverpool Lou said:

I do know, as you do not know, that they did not get involved in deadly drugs and I don't need a GoPro to know that.

You know what they chose to tell you. Don’t kid yourself into believing any parent knows every single thing their adult kids did in their 20s

I'm not kidding myself, all my Thai children are in their 20s and none of them are using drugs. Don't kid yourself that you know what's going on in my family.

ezzra Star Member

ezzra

Advanced Member

All the good jokes about white poweder were taken already.

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