When a pair of young Thai masseuses arrived at Shane Warne’s hotel room on the island of Koh Samui in March 2022, they had no idea they’d be the last people to see the Australian cricket star alive.
‘Shane was a really lovely man,’ recalled the then 27-year-old Bovi. ‘He stripped off and laid on the bed for a back rub with oils. He was very much at ease and comfortable… We were both so shocked when we found out later that he had died.’
Two hours after the girls had left, at around 5.15pm on March 4, the former international cricketer and father-of-three was found unresponsive by a friend on the bedroom floor. He was taken to the Thai International Hospital, where – despite the best efforts of paramedics – he was pronounced dead at 6.53pm at the age of 52.
A post-mortem examination found Warne had suffered a major heart attack linked to a pre-existing condition. It appeared the Aussie maverick’s notorious party lifestyle had finally caught up with him. His death – albeit tragic and untimely – was seemingly clear-cut.
However, in a shocking twist this week, it was revealed by a Thai police whistleblower that officers had subtly removed a key piece of evidence from the scene of Warne’s death. Namely, a bottle of the super-strong, illegal sex drug Kamagra – a jelly-based Viagra-like drug containing the active ingredient sildenafil, which has been known to exacerbate cardiovascular issues. We will come back to this later.
‘We were ordered by our seniors to get rid of the bottle,’ revealed the anonymous police officer. ‘These orders were coming from up high, and I think senior officials from Australia were also involved because they did not want their national figure to have an ending like this.’ The Australian authorities have not commented on this allegation.
Could it really be that a web of lies surrounded the death of the King of Spin?
Today, the Mail can reveal that Lana Health Massage – the parlour that provided the two girls who went to Warne’s villa and who may know more about his use and procurement of Kamagra – has since shut down, with its premises taken over by a new business.
Australian cricket legend Shane Warne was known for his love of women
The parlour, in central Koh Samui, has been extensively refurbished, with glass windows, a new steel awning and fresh paintwork. One local revealed it ‘opened around five months ago’.
When the Mail visited the new enterprise – which we have chosen not to name – we were warmly welcomed by a young woman with flowing dark hair
and light pink lipstick, who offered massages ranging from the ‘strictly professional’ to ‘total satisfaction’.
It is understood the two girls who attended to Warne three years ago have since left the island. However, when asked whether any other girls from Lana Health Massage still plied their trade here, the young lady’s smile vanished. ‘It’s my first day,’ she claimed, suddenly panicked and looking over her shoulder. ‘I don’t know anything.’ Three years on, Shane Warne’s death still casts a dark shadow over the popular Thai island of Koh Samui, an hour’s flight from Bangkok.
But the sad story of Warne’s demise really begins two months before he died in January 2022, with the conclusion of the five-match Ashes series between England and Australia Down Under, which Warne had spent six weeks commentating on for Fox Sports.
According to the leg-spinner’s friend and long-time manager James Erskine, the sportsman-turned-broadcaster ‘had sort of decided he was going to have three months off’, following the completion of the series, which Australia won 4-0.
During that hiatus in his busy schedule, Warne shared an old picture with his 1.3million Instagram followers on February 28 that showed him topless along with the caption: ‘Operation shred has started (10 days in) & the goal by July is to get back to this shape from a few years ago!’
We now know – again courtesy of his manager, Mr Erskine – that shortly before his death, Warne had completed an ‘extreme’ 14-day liquid-only diet as part of his efforts to slim down.
The final picture of Shane Warne showing him returning from a local tailor
Three days after posting the image on Instagram – on Thursday, March 3 – Warne arrived on the island of Koh Samui to begin what was supposed to be a week-long ‘lads’ holiday’ alongside four friends: Andrew Neophitou, Tom Hall, Fred Witherow and Gareth Edwards. The group were staying at Samujana Villas – part-owned by Mr Edwards – a sprawling, luxury complex that boasts 23 private villas, each with its own infinity pool and breathtaking views over the Thai Gulf. With villas starting at an eye-watering US $1,000 a night, Samujana is one of the most exclusive resorts on the island and has this year risen to yet greater prominence after being used as a filming location for the third series of smash-hit TV drama The White Lotus.
That night, Warne again posted to Instagram, this time a picture of the infinity pool adjoined to his villa, and wished his followers ‘good night’ in the caption.
The following ill-fated morning, news broke that another Australian cricketing great, Rod Marsh, had died, eight days after suffering his own heart attack. At 8.53am, Warne tweeted: ‘Sad to hear the news that Rod Marsh has passed. He was a legend of our great game & an inspiration to so many young boys & girls… Sending lots & lots of love to Ros & the family. RIP mate.’
Tragically, at the time of the tweet, Warne himself had just hours to live. At around 1pm, Warne paid a visit to Brioni Master Tailor, one of the island’s leading gentleman’s outfitters.
Its proprietor, 47-year-old Parsuram Panday, revealed the pair had last met in 2019 when Warne – a regular visitor to Koh Samui – had purchased ten suits shortly before the Covid pandemic.
On that fateful day in 2022, Panday – who goes by the name Mr Ram – measured Warne for five blazers, ten pairs of slacks, five pairs of shorts and five shirts all for a special discounted price of just 35,000 baht (£775). ‘He was buzzing,’ the tailor later recalled. ’Excited to be back on the island, to enjoy a trip with friends.’
At 2.19pm, Warne was captured on hotel CCTV returning to his villa with a number of the new purchases draped over his arm. By this point, four girls had already arrived at the hotel from Lana Health Massage – a ten-minute drive south of the hotel – ostensibly to offer the four friends massages. Two of the girls – Bovi and her colleague Plu Gun – went to Warne’s room before leaving just under 40 minutes later at 2.58pm. ‘He was very friendly and put us at ease. He seemed to enjoy himself very much,’ Bovi later said. ‘He said goodbye and that was it, everything was normal.’
The masseuses – the last people to see Warne alive – were later interviewed by Thai police, who said they were central to the investigation. However, neither was ever implicated in the death. ’It was just massage,’ police chief Yuttana Sirisombat later insisted. ‘He didn’t die because of the massage. He wasn’t well.’
Warne had earlier told his friends he planned to stay in his room that afternoon to enjoy some cricket on the television – Australia were playing Pakistan – and that he’d meet them for dinner.
The hotel room in Koh Samui, Thailand, where Shane Warne died
The ambulance arrived shortly before 6pm and took Warne to the Thai International Hospital, a 15-minute drive away
At around 5pm, a hotel maid knocked on his door, as he had a foot treatment booked.
There was no answer. At around 5.15pm, there was a second knock on Warne’s door, this time from Mr Neophitou, the executive producer of an Amazon Prime documentary about the cricketer and who now runs The Shane Warne Legacy, a philanthropic venture which generates funds from the late star’s intellectual property.
When Warne failed to come to the door, Mr Neophitou realised something was wrong. He forced his way into the villa and made a grim discovery. Warne was lying motionless on the floor, specks of blood and vomit on the carpet. Emergency services were called and Mr Neophitou began CPR.
‘We got a call around 5.30pm about an unconscious case,’ said Phet Boonrak, chief of the Wat Plai Laem rescue team. ‘We got there in five minutes. The person was unconscious and had a weak pulse, so we tried CPR and called the ambulance.’
The ambulance arrived shortly before 6pm and took Warne to the Thai International Hospital, a 15-minute drive away.
‘When he arrived at hospital his face was green and pale,’ said hospital director Dulyakit Wittayachanyapong. ‘He had black blood in his nose and mouth, which was unusual. The doctor on duty concluded the patient had passed before arriving at the hospital.’
He was officially declared dead at 6.53pm. Warne’s body was then taken 50 miles to Surat Thani, a city on the Thai mainland, where an autopsy was carried out.
It concluded he had suffered a heart attack related to a ‘congenital disease’ and had therefore died of ‘natural causes’. It was also revealed by the star’s family that he had been seeing a cardiologist in Melbourne about chest pains shortly before his trip.
The case was duly closed and, within five days, Warne’s body was repatriated to a nation in mourning. However, a medical report, which only came to light this week and corroborates the account provided by the police whistleblower, revealed medics noted three separate sexual-enhancement drugs had been found in Warne’s room, namely: Kamagra, Viagra and Dapoxetine – the latter of which is used to prevent premature ejaculation.
It is unknown whether or not this cocktail of drugs played a part in Warne’s untimely death.
While Kamagra is illegal in Thailand, Viagra and Dapoxetine can be bought with a prescription. However, at a number of pharmacies on Koh Samui, the Mail was offered Viagra over the counter.
As Kamagra is unlicensed consumers have no guarantee as to the authenticity, purity or safety of their product. It comes in a jelly form and can either be swallowed directly or dissolved in water.
Over recent years, it has boomed in popularity across Thailand, largely due to its relatively low cost, with a 100mg sachet costing 250 Thai baht (about £5).
In another development, Australian media reported this week that Warne had been taking products similar to Viagra for up to a ‘decade before his death’.
A source close to Warne told news.com.au that the star was in no way embarrassed about using the drug and ‘openly discussed it’.
What is abundantly clear is that Shane Warne was a man of extremes – on and off the field. As a cricketer, he took a staggering 708 Test wickets – the second most of all time – and almost single-handedly made the dying art of leg spin fashionable again.
Off the pitch, he was a self-confessed party animal who smoked, drank, gambled and made love – all to excess. As his friend Piers Morgan put it: ‘He packed more fun into his 52 years than anyone I’ve met in my entire life.’
Whatever the truth about Shane Warne’s final hours, his legacy remains undiminished and his greatness beyond reproach.
