Pakistani Arrested For Passport Forgery

Thai police arrest Pakistani for allegedly forging passports

BANGKOK: -- Thailand’s immigration police have apprehended a Pakistani man for allegedly forging a passport and providing false documents for a key member of a regional terrorist group.

The immigration police have named the arrested man as M A Hussen, a 44-year-old Pakistani married to a Thai women.

He was picked up several days ago in a business area of Bangkok, the immigration police chief, Pol. Lt. Gen. Charnwuth Vacharapuke told TNA on Thursday.

Mr. Hussen allegedly has close connections with regional terrorist groups, especially the Jemaah Islamiya (JI).

Mr. Hussen is accused of forging a passport for Hambali, the alleged leader of the Jl group, who was apprehended in Thailand last year.

The immigration police plan to contact anti-terrorism agencies in other countries seeking further information on the man.

Meanwhile, Mr. Hussen has been charged with holding and using fake documents to stay illegally in Thailand.

Mr. Hussen holds a Myanmar passport under the name of Amen Hussen.

Police found three other fake passports in his Bangkok home.

During his interrogation, Mr. Hussen denied all the charges against him.

He told the police that he was a businessman married to a Thai women, and had opened several businesses in Thailand over the past 20 years.

He told police that had heard Hambali’s name, but had never been contacted by him personally.

-- TNA 2004-10-01