Thais Arrest UK-Algerian With 450 Fake Passports

[Bentley 7]

Thais Arrest Uk-algerian With 450 Fake Passports

BANGKOK: -- A British man of Algerian origin has been arrested at Bangkok's international airport for trying to smuggle more than 450 forged European passports out of Thailand.

The suspect, identified as Mahieddine Daikh, 35, was arrested as he tried to board a China Airlines flight bound for Amsterdam carrying fake Belgian, French, Portuguese and Spanish documents.

"At first we found 138 forged passports in his carry-on bag," Colonel Chanatpol Yongbanjerd of the airport's immigration command said.

"Then we found another 314 in his checked luggage."

The man was en route to Scotland, Chanatpol said.

The suspect said during an initial investigation that he had bought the forged passports on Thailand's resort island of Samui, where a French woman was arrested in June for selling stolen French passports, he said.

Chanatpol said he did not believe the statement.

The EU has accused Thailand of being a hub for document forgery.

Briton Hamdi Isaac, a suspect in the attempted July 21 bombings in London, was arrested in Italy with false identity documents.

In January, Thai authorities arrested a Bangladeshi man accused of providing a fake passport to Asian terror suspect Hambali, who was captured in Thailand in 2003

--Agencies 2005-08-03

[astral]

Where can I get one?

[meelousee]

Where can I get one?

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Guess you can go to Samui get fixed right up

[george]

Thais arrest UK-Algerian with 450 fake passports

BANGKOK: -- Thai police arrested a British man of Algerian descent on Wednesday for having more than 450 fake passports from several European countries.

Police said the 35 year-old was arrested early on Wednesday at Bangkok airport while in transit from the southeastern Thai resort island of Samui to Amsterdam and ultimately to Glasgow in Scotland.

"He confessed that he bought the fake passports from a Pakistani man in Thailand's famous Samui island for 3,000 pounds," the equivalent of $5,300 (2,988 pounds), police said in a statement.

The 452 forged passports were for Spain, Belgium, Portugal and France. The British embassy in Bangkok declined immediate comment.

Thailand is notorious as a centre for production and distribution of fake travel documents.

However, police have been under pressure to clamp down on the trade, which security analysts say makes it easier for international militants to hide their identities and travel undetected.

--Reuters 2005-08-03

[OlRedEyes]

Hmmm... now who shall I be today....

[dezeure]

Ok so its an ALGERIAN caught with fake passports... and not a European... You sure his nationality is correct or is that fake too?

Congrats to Immigration Police for catching this guy. Enjoy the Bangkok Hilton...

[Capricorn]

??? 3000 pounds x 72 baht to the pound = 216,000 baht divide by 450 passports = 480 baht each,........

what a load of &lt;deleted&gt;, dodgy books are worth more than that, so some ones lying to start with.

[Thug]

480 baht each here, how much would it cost each in Europe?? 100 pounds at least????

[Lemmenspeter]

480 baht each here, how much would it cost each in Europe?? 100 pounds at least????

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

For Belgium: add a zero.

[the scouser]

Depending on the quality of the forgery, £1000 per passport.

Scouse.

[BlackJack]

so picture this

this black dude is going through immigration and then Thai authorities say " passport please" and this dude thinks shit Im gone, how the ###### did they know?

So he reaches in his carry bag and grabs any old passport that happens to be a German Passport with the name Helmoot Friedenbanger

Authorities look him up and down and he dont look like Helmoot and he sure dont sound like Helmoot - so he reaches in and gets another and another

sounds like he didnt plan hes getaway to good

[cobra]

... "At first we found 138 forged passports in his carry-on bag," Colonel Chanatpol Yongbanjerd of the airport's immigration command said.

"Then we found another 314 in his checked luggage...."

A real rocket scientist of document smuggling, who smuggles anything on their person With random searches, heightened security, and a 138 passports in your carry-on, ... ah, I'm having them cleaned and pressed, it's a legitimate business, hey wait ...

[Rinrada]

a British man of Algerian descent

I know a British man when I meet one. This guy is a fukking 'Algerian who holds British citizenship.'

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

A Pom from wherever he/she descends is as much a Brit as the queen of England is .....German....but so wot....

Seems he was paid £15,000 by a a Pakistani man to deliver the dodgy goods from Samui.....but again wot the heck just another limey expat on his uppers on hols trying to earn a couple of bob......He wont be the first...or the last.....

agree...well done the boys at LOS immigration....wee bit of ...errr theres this guy at the airport sort of thing maybe...

[sriracha john]

BANGKOK: -- A British man

BANGKOK: --  Thai police arrested a British man

Ok so its an ALGERIAN caught with fake passports... and not a European...

Looks to me that he is a British man.... now whether or not you would consider a Brit a European is another topic...

[Bentley 7]

Apolgies for the confusion on this guys nationality, but thats how it was reported on AAP Reuters.

The point intended to make is that Thailand does cop a lot of crap in the international press. It would be nice to see a story about Thailand that wasn't about spas and cheap resorts etc or worse the ongoing crime, prostitution and now forgery capital of the world.

Is the International media so blind to the problems in the western countries thats its easier to point the finger at Thailand.

Im sure one could get a prostitute, a fake passport and a cheap spa in Europe too!!

[bangkokblue]

Somewhat unusual for a Brit to refer to another as a Pom or Limey. Anglo Saxon myself and bloody proud of it.

[D Vince]

I wonder if this will make them revise the idea of Hotels Etc all having to report who is registered as staying at their establishment.

Mind you, 237 Mr John (no middle initial) Smiths, all staying at the same holiday inn or whatever would be a dead give away.

Then again... this IS Thailand.

[D Vince]

Im sure one could get a prostitute, a fake passport and a cheap spa in Europe too!!

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

What about a Fake prostitute, a cheap passport, and sauna?

Let them pull that one off as well as we can, and I'll be impressed!

[newns.m]

Im sure one could get a prostitute, a fake passport and a cheap spa in Europe too!!

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

What about a Fake prostitute, a cheap passport, and sauna?

Let them pull that one off as well as we can, and I'll be impressed

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

And i get edgy carrying 10 DVD's and a few t-shirts!

Next time walk behind the first Algerian you can find.

[Anon999]

480 baht each here, how much would it cost each in Europe?? 100 pounds at least????

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

£100! Maybe you forgot an extra zero on the end.

[Bentley 7]

Im sure one could get a prostitute, a fake passport and a cheap spa in Europe too!!

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

What about a Fake prostitute, a cheap passport, and sauna?

Let them pull that one off as well as we can, and I'll be impressed!

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

If were going that way well then get me a passport to a sauna full of pros.

[Larry]

Maybe I think this way because I'm Israeli, but an Algerian with forged EU passports entering Thailand in the midst of the current crisis down south brings to mind a facilitation of terror rather than simply the potential sale of forged passports for money. After all, Europeans get in to Thailand a lot easier than Arabs--- especially those Arabs who are on lists as terrorists.

CAVEAT THAILAND

[WISteve]

Look on the bright side.... They won't be setting bombs in Bangers as long as it's a haven for them!

If they can catch the really stupid smugglers like this one (in another news report he admitted to the 138 in his carry-on but disowned the 314 in his checked luggage, saying he thought there were 100 pair of blue jeans in that bag!) maybe sometime in the future the authorities will take the illegal document problem seriously.

Either someone in Thailand has some serious connections with passport thieves, or they have some very creative printers in LOS.....

Scary.

~WISteve

[spencerdharmagrafix]

Where can I get one?

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Try Macdonalds on Chaweng - theyre on offer this month

[samuislander]

Here in Samui all of our customers (resorts and hotels) send or take a report of thier guests to imigration every week, weather anyone reads it I don't Know.

I was behind a guy that was replacing ahis pasport at the U.S. Embasy in K.L he was lectured on losing his pasport and how if it happened agian he would have a very difficult time replacing it agian and may only be issued a 1 year pasport. The reason used valid U.S. and British pasports sell for $25-$35,000.

[ilyushin]

Guess the passports will be back on the market soon. They will disappear from evidence and be back on the streets. Be on the lookout. Sure the prices will be higher.

Edited August 4, 2005 by ilyushin

[spog]

Sounds like they are probably crap quality. The ones I've seen wouldn't fool an immigration official on the first day of the job. About as authentic as a 100 baht note printed out on an inkjet printer.

[sriracha john]

By Mark Ellis

A BRITON has been arrested in Thailand carrying fake passports, the Foreign Office confirmed yesterday.

Mahieddine Daikh, 35, who is Algerian-born but he became a naturalised British citizen two years ago, was caught at Bangkok's international airport.

The British Embassy in Bangkok said: "I can confirm he was arrested at Don Muang Airport in possession of fake travel documents."

[raro]

A Pom from wherever he/she descends is as much a Brit as the queen of England is .....German....but so wot....

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

heyheyhey! The Queen of England IS German....the Windsors origin from Hannover!

[george]

British man found with 452 fake passports

BANGKOK: -- A British national of Algerian descent was arrested yesterday at Don Muang airport with 452 fake passports.

Pol Maj-Gen Suwat Thamrongsrisakul, the acting Immigration Police chief, said Mahieddine Daikh, 35, was nabbed at the departure lounge of the airport at 1am while he was about to board a flight for Amsterdam.

Found in his possession were 452 passports for Spain, Belgium, Portugal and France _ 138 in one suitcase and 314 in another.

Mr Daikh said he bought the 138 fake passports for 3,000 (220,000 baht) from a Pakistani man at Koh Samui in Surat Thani and planned to sell them in London. He denied knowing anything about the 314 others, saying the Pakistani told him the suitcase contained 100 pairs of jeans.

The man was initially charged with forgery.

Police are looking for the Pakistani man mentioned by him.

--Bangkok Post 2005-08-04