Thais Arrest UK-Algerian With 450 Fake Passports

[francois]

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

For Belgium: add a zero.

and for france add a 1 in front ... fake docs are expensive and always used by those who shouldn't ... to go to england from france ...

it's a well organized business

francois

[george]

Update:

Asylum Briton found with 452 fake passports

BANGKOK: -- A Briton arrested in Thailand sits at a table with 452 fake European Union passports that were found in his luggage.

Algerian-born Mahieddine Daikh - an asylum seeker who was given a new life in Britain - was pictured yesterday after being stopped at Bangkok Airport by immigration officials as he prepared to board a flight to the UK.

Last night, the 35-year-old was being questioned about the high-quality forgeries of French, Belgian, Portuguese and Spanish passports. With the focus of the London bombings investigation on forged documents and the ease of movements of suspects using EU documentation, details of the arrest were being monitored by Scotland Yard.

Daikh - who came to Britain claiming to be fleeing persecution in Algeria seven years ago - told Thai immigration authorities he was granted citizenship two years ago. When arrested, he was carrying his new British passport, issued in February this year.

For the past six months, he has been sharing a flat in Wandsworth, South London, which is paid for by the taxpayer. Thai investigators said Daikh claimed he was paid £15,000 to take the forged passports to a contact in Glasgow. He claimed he picked them up on the Thai holiday island of Samui, paying a Pakistani man £3,000 for them.

Major General Suwat Thamrongsisakul, of the airport's immigration bureau, said Daikh was not being treated as a terrorist but officials were investigating to see whether there were any possible links.

He said Thai police would be liaising with British detectives.

--The Mail Online 2005-08-04

[Eric Davis]

And here is the happy chappie.

[Patong Bob]

He could always claim that the baggage handlers put them there.....

[Eric Davis]

and removed the 100 pairs of blue jeans while in the process.

[Ricardo]

If these home-made passports really do come from Samui - does that qualify them for OTOP promotion ?

If this guy is being housed in London , out of the public purse, then how come he can afford to holiday in Thailand ?

Edited August 4, 2005 by Ricardo

[Thug]

How come this guy is not even hand-cuffed? Right there in front of the Police and a few hundred fake Passports?

I wonder where is the next destination of these passports.

[george]

Update:

Briton may be free to go, in spite of his 452 fake passports

BANGKOK: -- A Briton has been arrested in Thailand with 452 fake blank European passports in his luggage, as he prepared to board a flight to return to Britain.

Mahieddine Daikh, an Algerian who became a naturalised Briton two years ago, will probably escape punishment unless there is a formal complaint in the next few days from the government of one of the countries affected, Thai and British authorities said.

Mr Daikh was caught on Wednesday while in transit from the southern Thai island of Samui to Amsterdam, from where he was due to fly to Scotland.

Officials found about 200 forged passports from France, Belgium, Spain and Portugal in his hand luggage and 250 from the same countries in his checked-in bags, an immigration chief, General Suwat Thamrongsisakul, said.

"There were 452 altogether," he said. "He told us he bought the passports from a Pakistani man for £3000 ($7000) in Koh Samui and that he would be paid £15,000 when he delivered them to his contact in London.

"Of course he can't remember the name of the Pakistani."

A British embassy official who examined the passports was very impressed with their quality, General Suwat said. "He had to look at them very carefully before being certain they were fake."

Mr Daikh is being held in an immigration detention centre but he could be free by the weekend, because there appears to be no terrorism link to the case.

"We will not prosecute him unless one of the embassies [of the countries whose passports were forged] files a formal complaint," General Suwat said. "If they do not, we will revoke his visa and return him [to Britain]."

A Foreign Office spokeswoman said he "could not be prosecuted in Britain for this offence".

--The Guardian, UK 2005-08-04

[Rinrada]

Recon he will walk after all it was only a pile of FAKE passports...not genunine ones which would probally have meant doing a bit of bird.

I took back 3 pairs of gen.fake levis once and a gen/fake Low-lex and nobody said anything...well not until they washed them and they shrunk and couldnt fit and the gold paint came off the watch...

Na mate give him back hi "funny"passports and let him body swerve..but check him at departures (china air-Amsterdam)in case his luggage is overweight

[the scouser]

...only a pile of FAKE passports...not genunine ones..

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

The inference from the various reports is that they are forgeries; i.e. genuine passports that have been unofficially altered.

Scouse.

[phuketsiam]

smells of terrorism to me, british passports, algerian, pakistani, glad they caught him, not often the boys in brown impress me, but this time they did OK

[RailaeBeach_Bum]

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...

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

So Reuters reckon hes an Algerian..? How Do They Know That..? There again Reuters could be in on it.. They may even be The Nation is Disguise..

[Rinrada]

smells of terrorism to me, british passports, algerian, pakistani, glad they caught him, not often the boys in brown impress me, but this time they did OK

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

European......No mention of any faked British Passports

In fact it may look like the only genunine one that he was actually carrying was his own.(UK)

[IMA_FARANG]

smells of terrorism to me, british passports, algerian, pakistani, glad they caught him, not often the boys in brown impress me, but this time they did OK

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

European......No mention of any faked British Passports

In fact it may look like the only genunine one that he was actually carrying was his own.(UK)

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I wonder if he is really dumb enough to go to a European country. He is just the mule to carry the passports, and no one will be there to meet him, except for the local anti-terrorist police. Then he will be on his way back to Algeria. In Algeria he will tell all the names he knows (assuming he survives the questioning). Then the info will be passed to those who want to know, and he will recieve a bullet in the brain once he has spilled all the info they wanted from him. They don't mess around. If you play with fire, you probably will get burned.

[IsaanAlex]

He's already ratted people out; now it's time to let him 'walk' and follow him...

Who really believes this jack-off line that it wouldn't be a problem in X or Y country, haha

IA

PS. Time for Portugal to step up and lodge a complaint to keep his ass in jail; judging by the pictures, he's forged a few of their passports. Not as bad as Israel outfitting 2 of their assassins with Canadian passports...but I stll wouldn't be happy.

Edited August 4, 2005 by IsaanAlex

[udon]

A Pakistani in Samui........ Hmmm, shouldn't be too hard to find........

Ahh, geez, I forgot, this would involve Thai Plod........ in that case forget it!

Edited by Scouse.

[Braccobaldo]

I really hope authorities don't let him go freely...it would be a shame!!!

4/5 years jailed it would be better!!!!

[atulmangalmurti]

passports are forged and looks like origanals are purchased from those good europian nationals. reported as stolen or lost in asia during last few years.

every country involved should file complain, get forged passports back and trace for correct owner. i am sure they will end up in many surprises.

[Dradam]

I am just wondering how successful it is to used forged passports to get into a country. Don't the scanners have a number identification with each passport. Certainly the fake passports can't be registered correctly for scanning without passing a government agency.

If fake passports are that succesful perhaps many people could save a VISA run to the border by simply purchasing fake passports every 3 months or so.

[Foggy Bottom]

Look closely at the photos - these are newly printed counterfeits - it takes all of 2 days for that gold block printing on the cover to wear off in your pocket (at least on British ones it does) even if protected in a plastic document sleeve.

The Euros are probably arguing over who has jurisdiction on this case - whether it should be up to the individual nations whose passports are purportedly on the table, or whether it should go through the central European Court.

Either way - for Thailand to claim there is no crime and he can be released is a travesty - he should be prosecuted for trafficking forged documents of sovereignity as an example - they're always claiming how hard they're combating counterfeiting of intellectual property rights (software, music etc) and this is far more serious. Reckon the US might cut their anti-terrorism donations if this guy walks

[BkkPundit]

Either way - for Thailand to claim there is no crime and he can be released is a travesty - he should be prosecuted for trafficking forged documents of sovereignity as an example - they're always claiming how hard they're combating counterfeiting of intellectual property rights (software, music etc) and this is far more serious.  Reckon the US might cut their anti-terrorism donations if this guy walks

Where did the Thai police say there was no crime? The Thai police are quoted as saying "[w]e will not prosecute him unless one of the embassies [of the countries whose passports were forged] files a formal complaint".

The Thai police are saying to the embassies concerned that they need to lay a complaint. The embassies will need to examine the documents and establish they are counterfeit and provide documentary evidence to the police.

I don't think he will be going anywhere soon.

[brubo1]

if he is as stupid as he looks in those pictures - how did he make to Thailand in the first place???????

As for Thai authorities needing a complaint from one of the countries involved - why? Can't they decide for themselves whether a crime has been committed on their soil or not?!

[vasan_blr]

Either way - for Thailand to claim there is no crime and he can be released is a travesty - he should be prosecuted for trafficking forged documents of sovereignity as an example - they're always claiming how hard they're combating counterfeiting of intellectual property rights (software, music etc) and this is far more serious.  Reckon the US might cut their anti-terrorism donations if this guy walks

The Thai police are saying to the embassies concerned that they need to lay a complaint. The embassies will need to examine the documents and establish they are counterfeit and provide documentary evidence to the police.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Is this a "Mai Penrai" free to go case to attract "F-Passport tourists" ?.

If they arrest someone carry drug in luggage will they wait for their embassy to complain about it ? to put him in jail. Probably, If some one make fake Thai's E-Passports, then they realise.

[astral]

A British embassy official who examined the passports was very impressed with their quality, General Suwat said. "He had to look at them very carefully before being certain they were fake."

"We will not prosecute him unless one of the embassies [of the countries whose passports were forged]files a formal complaint," General Suwat said. "If they do not, we will revoke his visa and return him [to Britain]."

A Foreign Office spokeswoman said he "could not be prosecuted in Britain for this offence".

I wonder why possessing a fake passport is not an offence in the UK.

It is illegal to make a colour photocopy of a British passport!

It all sounds very strange.

Does it go back to the old days of spying on the Russians, when multiple

passports in various nationalities seem to have been the norm, according to the movies.

Edited August 5, 2005 by astral

[the scouser]

I am just wondering how successful it is to used forged passports to get into a country.  Don't the scanners have a number identification with each passport.  Certainly the fake passports can't be registered correctly for scanning without passing a government agency.

If fake passports are that succesful perhaps many people could save a VISA run to the border by simply purchasing fake passports every 3 months or so.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

If the document is counterfeit, i.e. it's a total contrivance, then the machine-readable code would not scan and the immigration officer would be alerted. However, if it is a forgery, i.e. a genuine document which has been altered, then it would scan and the immigration officer would be reliant upon other factors to identify it as being used by the wrongful holder.

I wonder why possessing a fake passport is not an offence in the UK.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

It is an offence - uttering a false instrument. However, the crime has to have occurred within the UK as this particular law is not enforceable extra-territorially.

Scouse.

[Laulen]

Well done to the Thai Police for being so vigilant

All these fake documents make life difficult enough for the rest of us who are genuine.

Will the queue for visas, passports and other official documents be even longer now, with yet more supporting documents, like bank statements, council tax receipts, utility bills, and maybe even the Cycling Proficiency Certificate.

Laulen

[Scott]

The scary thing about these forged passports is that they are almost always used by people with bad intentions. They are not usually used to get into the country that the passport is from, since they are easily recognized. However, if an Al-Qada member wishes to meet a cell member in a third country, they can use these passports, making them very difficult to trace.

Many immigration officials in other countries are not trained well enough to recognize a fake passport of countries not near them.

[big Robbo]

Let the poor guy go he has to sign on on monday and rape our goverment of its cash to fund his next trip

[johnwills]

Can't they just keep him, another scum bag the UK could do without.

[dr_Pat_Pong]

That bullet in the brain suggested earlier would discourage any repeat passport offences.