Associated Press:

A French woman has been arrested on the Thai resort island of Samui for dealing in French passports stolen from her country, a police official said Friday.

Brigitte Aouat, 56, was arrested late Thursday for her involvement in a criminal network that stole thousands of passports in France and sold hundreds of them at markets in Bangkok, a Thai immigration official said on condition of anonymity. Some of the passports were altered.

The suspect's hometown was not immediately known, but she had been living in Thailand for at least five years and was arrested after returning to Samui from a visit to Japan, said the official, who asked not to be identified because the arrest has not been publicly announced.

The arrest came after Thai authorities were notified by the French Embassy that stolen French passports were being sold in Thailand. A Turkish man arrested for selling the passports told police he had gotten the documents from Aouat, he said.

French Embassy officials were not immediately available for comment.

An investigation by French and Thai authorities showed Aouat had been working with a criminal gang in France that had stolen about 15,000 passports while they were being delivered from a printing company to government offices there, the official said.

Two French men associated with Aouat were arrested in Thailand two months ago on charges of selling passports and deported back to France, he said, adding that Aouat was also believed to have been involved in drug trafficking.

She will likely be extradited to France. It was unclear what penalty she faces, the official said.

Hang her

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