French woman arrested in Thailand for selling stolen passports

BANGKOK: -- A French woman has been arrested on Thailand’s resort island of Samui for selling stolen French passports, immigration police said on Saturday.

Brigitte Aouat, 46, was arrested Thursday in a hotel on the Gulf of Thailand island popular with holidaymakers, police said. She has been transferred to Bangkok to await trial.

“At least 2,000 genuine French passports were stolen, and Aouat sold them on the streets of Bangkok for 40,000 to 50,000 baht (1,000 to 1,250 dollars) each,” an immigration police official said.

Police found Aouat after an Iranian and three Chinese were arrested with stolen passports, which helped them uncover the network, police added.

The French embassy in Bangkok said the passports were from a lot stolen around the southeastern French city of Marseilles, and that Aouat had already sold them in several Asian nations.

“This confirms that Bangkok is one of the main centers for international gangs selling fake or stolen passports,” a French diplomat said.

“Trafficking in passports is a major problem here.”

--AFP 2005-06-25

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The French embassy in Bangkok said the passports were from a lot stolen around the southeastern French city of Marseilles, and that Aouat had already sold them in several Asian nations.

Note that they were STOLEN legitimate passports. They are not fakes

I expect this is an organized international criminal ring.

She was working for the criminal ring

Wonder if the Thai authorities were tipped off about her?

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How else would they work it out

Hang her

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by her boules

40-50,000 Baht is a lot of money.  I shudder to think who is buying them.

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Brits i would imagine.

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Brits buyin' Frog passports ? Even pissed ... never

Well, being French, has anyone considered she may have surrendered to the authorities

Well,

being French, has anyone considered she may have surrendered to the authorities

what's you problem with French, African or Moroccans???

Lot of people need passport, I'm sure today in Thailand Scandinavian bank robbers are more demanding than african... why african would be willing to go live in France and struggle when they make money and a life here in Thailand selling garments legally??

As usual, some nations speak too fast more than others!!

A french-moroccan from Marseille, still having his passport

Well, being French, has anyone considered she may have surrendered to the authorities

like it

what most eastern Europeans or Africans or

any not British persons would do is by a fake passport just to enter Britain

once through the door the passport would be hidden or bind then they can claim asylum

and say there from a non e u country lie about how there got to the UK

once here there are given housing within 24 hours its a law which all asylum seekers are granted

also food vouchers and clothing so $1000 is nothing for a life of freedom

Why so quick to jump on the Africans?   After all the article said 3 Chineese and a Iraninan where picked up. Lets not forget a french passport would be just the thing for a Cambodian with a lil dough looking to get out, OR better yet for someone looking to smuggle in cheap Cambodian labor or sex slaves into France. France did their colonisation thing over there too ya know.

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Over 83% of all oversatyers/ dissapearers in the UK are from Africa is this a trend

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Hmm we have the same problem with Mexicans here in the States. Though we have a 1000+ mile long boarder with Mexcio... You guys in the UK have easy immigration policies?

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No! Its difficult to even get a visa for a trip. With the rest of the EU if you get a visa for one you can enter any of the other EU countries. UK hasn't signed up to that agreement. So travel into the UK is more restricted.

Maybe she wanted to register Sim cards with them.

Of course, she couldn't sell stolen Thai passports for two reasons:

1) the new chip-passport means that stolen passports are useless

2) thai passports are pretty useless anyway