Pakistani, Thai Nabbed Over Madrid Attack

[webfact]

Pakistanis, Nigerian held in Spain over terror links

by Denholm Barnetson

MADRID, December 1, 2010 (AFP) - Spanish police have arrested six Pakistanis and a Nigerian suspected of providing forged passports to organisations linked to Al-Qaeda, including the group accused of plotting the 2008 attacks in Mumbai, the interior ministry said Wednesday.

Three others -- two Pakistanis and a Thai national -- were held in Thailand as part of the same Operation Kampai, which "neutralised a vast cell that helped provide passports for Al-Qaeda," it said in a statement.

A police source in Thailand said four people were arrested in the country as part of the operation, but gave no further details.

Spanish police detained the seven suspects in raids in and around the northeastern city of Barcelona, which has a large Pakistani community, late on Tuesday.

The gang stole documents, including passports, which were sent to Thailand to be forged and then delivered to Al Qaeda-linked "terrorist groups," in particular the Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba that has been accused of plotting the Mumbai attacks, the ministry said.

Ten militants killed at least 166 people in three days of violence in the Indian city in November, 2008.

The suspects arrested also supplied the defeated Sri Lankan separatist group the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, the Spanish statement said.

"In total, seven people have been arrested in Barcelona (six Pakistanis and a Nigerian), all for belonging to a cell providing documentation for terrorist organisations linked to Al-Qaeda," it said.

"The international structure was led by a Pakistani national living in Thailand and who has been detained, who directed the cells based in Europe, decided the features of the passports to obtain and, once they were received in Bangkok, supplied them to different terrorist groups."

Since the investigation began a year and a half ago, police "have detected a number of stolen passports taken from Spain to Thailand, which were stolen almost entirely in the province of Barcelona from tourists who met the requirements stipulated by the 'World Islamic Front' in order to be used by members of different terrorist cells linked to Al-Qaeda," the statement said.

In the raids, police also seized stolen passports, a computer and hard drives, mobile phones, documents and cash in various currencies, the ministry said.

The operation, which was carried out in conjunction with the police forces of other European countries and of Thailand, is continuing, the ministry said.

Spanish authorities have stepped up operations against Islamist radicals since the March 11, 2004 Al-Qaeda-inspired train bombings in Madrid that killed 191 people and wounded 1,800 others in the country's worst terror attack.

Sixteen of 28 anti-terrorist operations carried out since those attacks have taken place in the Catalonia region, whose capital is Barcelona, according to a study published last year by the research institute Elcano.

Last August, Spanish police arrested a Moroccan man suspected of recruiting Islamic extremists over the Internet and helping them travel to "conflict zones" such as Pakistan's restive tribal zone of Waziristan, Afghanistan and Chechnya.

Spain's interior ministry Wednesday named the seven held in Barcelona as Junaid Humayun, Atiqur Rehman, Jabran Ashgar, Malik Iftikhar Ahmad, Mohammad Saddique Khan Begum, Tanveer Arshad -- all Pakistanis -- and Nigerian-born Babatunde Agunbiade.

The three detained in Thailand were Thai national Sirikanlaya Kijbumrung, and Pakistanis Muhammad Athar Butt and Zeeshan Ehsan Butt, the ministry said.

-- (c) Copyright AFP 2010-12-02

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FUGITIVES

Two nabbed over Madrid attack

By The Nation

A Pakistani man has been arrested in Thailand for his alleged roles in the Madrid train bomb attack in 2004 which killed 191 people and wouded more than 2,000 people.

Muhammad Utter Butt, 42, was caught on Tuesday with his Thai girlfriend Sirikanlaya Kijbamrung at a Thai-Laotian border checkpoint in Nong Khai. Police found passports from Canada and Italy for them in her purse. The two have been charged with causing possible damage to the public and possessing stolen items.

A source at the Department of Special Investigation, which has both suspects in its custody, said Butt was a passport forger whose customers allegedly included members of terror rings around the world. Sirikanlaya, 25, has a relative who is a senior Bangkok-based police officer.

The DSI and police are waiting for more details about Butt's alleged links to the terrorists behind the attack in the Spanish capital.

Butt entered Thailand on an unspecified date after the train attack with a tourist visa and stayed on until his capture.

On March 11, 2004, a series of 10 explosions derailed four carriages of a train travelling in the outskirts of Madrid.

The investigation by Spanish authorities has spanned six countries and led to the international arrests of 70 suspects of various nationalities, with 21 of them convicted and seven acquitted.

-- The Nation 2010-12-02

[webfact]

Deputy PM Suthep orders probe of Bangkok-based transnational passport forging syndicate allegedly linked to terrorist group involved in attacks in Spain /MCOT

[Thaddeus]

Deputy PM Suthep orders probe of Bangkok-based transnational passport forging syndicate allegedly linked to terrorist group involved in attacks in Spain /MCOT

I'd start with.

Sirikanlaya, 25, has a relative who is a senior Bangkok-based police officer.

[webfact]

Thai police link forgery arrests to huge terror cell

BANGKOK, December 2, 2010 (AFP) - Two Pakistanis and a Thai woman arrested on suspicion of making fake passports for Al-Qaeda linked groups were part of criminal networks tied to "many terrorist attacks", Thai police said Thursday.

The arrests in Thailand formed part of an international operation to stamp out a huge cell that has been linked to the 2008 attacks in Mumbai and the Madrid train bombings in 2004.

Pakistanis Muhammad Athar Butt, 39, and Zeeshan Ehsan Butt, 29, and Thai national Sirikanlaya Kijbumrung, 25, were arrested in Thailand on Tuesday as they attempted to flee into Laos.

"They are suspected of being part of a transnational criminal group, linked with terrorist organisation Lashkar-e-Taiba and involved with many terrorist attacks in Spain and European Union countries," a statement by Thai police said.

The Thai raids were coordinated with Spanish police, who arrested six Pakistanis and a Nigerian in raids in and around Barcelona, which has a large Pakistani community, late on Tuesday.

Thailand's Department of Special Investigation, working alongside authorities in Spain, found criminal networks in South Asia, specifically Pakistan and Bangladesh, had used Thailand as a base for document forgery.

"These are linked with terrorist groups, credit fraud, human trafficking and arms traders, which use those forged passports to enter third countries," the statement continued.

Police seized forged passports, immigration documents, faked rubber stamps, computers, mobile phones, passport photos, UK driving licences and other counterfeiting equipment.

Special branch police chief lieutenant general Tritos Ronritthiwichai told reporters the three suspects were charged with passport and document forgery, which is punishable by up to 20 years in prison.

"It is time for Thailand to arrest, eliminate and push out these criminals from our country because they are not welcome here," he said.

Operation Kampai "neutralised a vast cell that helped provide passports for Al-Qaeda", according to a statement by the Spanish interior ministry on Wednesday.

-- (c) Copyright AFP 2010-12-02

[webfact]

Three Arrested for Passport Forgery

The Department of Special Investigation has arrested three suspects in a passport forgery case, and there is possible link between the group and the terrorist attack on a Spanish train in 2004.

Two Pakistanis and one Thai have been arrested in connection with passport forgery in Nongkhai province while trying to flee to Laos.

They have been identified as Muhammed Atthur Butt, Cezan Atsan Butt and Sirikalaya Kitbamrung.

Many fake passports, visa rubber stamps and production equipment were seized in the operation.

The arrests came after the Department of Special Investigation, or DSI, joined hands with Spain to exchange information about international criminals.

Authorities found that the network is well coordinated and has members in a lot of countries, with Thailand as the base for passport duplication.

The false passports are sold to those who want to travel to third countries.

The investigation also found that this network is involved with terrorism in Spain and many other European nations.

The gang's major crimes encompassed the bomb attack in Madrid's metro system in 2004, a car bomb at Madrid's international airport, and a bomb attack at a television station in the Basque region of Spain.

They are also said to be responsible for credit card frauds, human trafficking and arm sales.

The DSI disclosed the network often steals passports of travelers from France, Spain and Italy and modify them.

The three suspects have been charged with false passport possession and sales.

-- Tan Network 2010-12-02

[webfact]

2 Pakistanis, Thai woman plead guilty for providing false passports to terrorists

Two Pakistanis and a Thai woman have pleaded guilty to providing falsified passports to terrorist groups, human-trafficking rings, and arms traffickers, Department of Special Investigation (DSI) director general Tharit Pengdit announced at a press conference Thursday.

The suspects were arrested in Thailand on November 30.

The court yesterday approved the DSI request to detain these suspects until December 13 for further questioning.

The suspects were identified as Muhammad Ather Butt, 39, Sirikanlaya Kijbamrung, 25, and Zezan Azzan Butt, 27.

-- The Nation 2010-12-02

[bangon04]

So Thailand really is the HUB of forged passports. The best option as endorsed by Al-Khaida.

Come on TAT, start the ad campaign..... there's still time to get some in for high season

Edited December 2, 2010 by bangon04

[webfact]

DSI: Passport forging suspects allegedly linked to terrorist group confess to crime

BANGKOK, Dec 2 – Passport forging suspects arrested in Thailand allegedly linked to terrorist groups involved in attacks in Spain have confessed to the crime of using Thailand as their base to counterfeit passports and other documents.the Department of Special Investigation (DSI) said Thursday.

DSI Director-General Tharit Pengdit said the two Pakistani men and one Thai woman involved with a transnational crime syndicate in Spain were arrested on Wednesday.

They allegedly used Thailand as their base to forge passports while the group's members in Spain stole tourist passports there and sent them to Thailand for passport forgery for selling at prices from Bt50,000 upward, according to the DSI.

Their crime is linked to terrorists, who used fake passports in carrying out an attack on Madrid's commuter trains in 2004 and a car bomb in India’s Mumbai in 2008.

Fake passports from this transnational gang were also used in human trafficking, the arms trade, credit card fraud, and illegal immigration.

Six Pakistanis and one Nigerian, gang members active in European Union countries, were arrested in Spain on Tuesday while Belgian authorities arrested two suspects from the Middle East, while investigations are in progress to arrest additional suspects in France.

Meanwhile, Thailand’s Criminal Court on Thursday denied bail and approved a further 12-day detention for the three suspects from December 2-13 to question 20 more witnesses and to wait for the results of laboratory evidence.

The three suspects were arrested in the northeastern province of Nong Khai while trying to flee Thailand. Identified as Muhammad Athar Butt, 39, Zeeshan Eshan Butt, 27 and Sirikanya Kitbumrung, 25, the detainees have pleaded guilty.

For further evidence the DSI, the Royal Thai Police Special Branch, the Immigration Bureau and other agencies on Wednesday inspected the suspects last residence in Bangkok’s Rat Burana district and found some materials and items used in the passport forging process.

The seized items included a stamp tool identifying country’s entry and departure, a date stamp tool, forged empty passports, photos of foreigners, United Kingdom driving licences and British driver's license application forms.

The investigation uncovered four other Thailand-based large-scale transnational rings committing similar crimes. The authorities are tracking them.

Responding to the arrest, Deputy Prime Minister Suthep Thaugsuban who oversees national security on Thursday ordered a probe of the Bangkok-based operations of the transnational syndicate. (MCOT online news)

-- TNA 2010-12-02

[Buchholz]

Muhammad Athar Butt, 39, and Zeeshan Ehsan Butt, 29, were arrested in Thailand on Tuesday as they attempted to flee into Laos.

But the Butt contingent look like such nice guys:

Muhammad Athar Butt, right, and Zeeshan Ehsan Butt, background, both Pakistani nationals, are escorted by Thai police at the Department of Special Investigation (DSI) in Bangkok, Thailand, Thursday, Dec. 2, 2010.

[asiawatcher]

Deputy PM Suthep orders probe of Bangkok-based transnational passport forging syndicate allegedly linked to terrorist group involved in attacks in Spain /MCOT

More Suthep attention grabbing headlines.

[webfact]

TRANSNATIONAL CRIME

Three accused of links to terror, trafficking and arms groups

By Piyanuch Thamnukasetchai

Kesinee Taengkhieo

The Nation

Muhammad Ather Butt

Two Pakistani men and a Thai woman arrested in Thailand on Tuesday have denied supplying falsified passports to terrorist groups, human-trafficking rings and arms dealers, according to the Department of Special Investigation (DSI).

However, following solid evidence, the court yesterday approved the DSI request to detain the three till December 13 for further interrogation.

The suspects - identified as Muhammad Ather Butt, 39, Sirikanlaya Kijbamrung, 25, and Zezan Azzan Butt, 27 - were described as members of a terrorist network.

The DSI plans to question 20 more witnesses and check the suspects' criminal background.

Narat Sawettanan, DSI deputy director-general, yesterday told the press conference the arrest was made after the DSI and other agencies uncovered a suspicious parcel.

"In the box, we found passports wrapped with a T-shirt," he said.

A search of the suspects' apartment at the Garden Court Condominium turned up materials and counterfeiting equipment used to produce fake travel documents, such as a black light and copies of passport pages.

Their work looked genuine because the gang stole passports from tourists in Europe and then altered some parts in Thailand.

The fake passports reportedly fetched Bt30,000-Bt50,000 each. They have also been exported.

The DSI plans to hunt down those who contacted the gang for the bogus passports, using evidence including their photos and some personal details.

Narat said the DSI had worked closely with Spanish authorities in exchanging information on transnational criminals with links to terrorism.

"We have focused on South Asian citizens who reside in Thailand and use the country as a base to produce phoney passports," he said.

Spanish police have reportedly nabbed six Pakistanis and a Nigerian suspected of providing forged passports to organisations linked to al-Qaeda, including the cell accused of plotting the 2008 attack in Mumbai.

Belgium has also arrested two Middle Easterners on identical charges. All these suspects have been linked.

-- The Nation 2010-12-03

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Spanish-Thai forgery probe reveals new links to Tamil Tigers

MADRID, December 3, 2010 (AFP) - Spanish and Thai police investigating a gang that supplied forged passports to Al-Qaeda linked groups have found new evidence of links to Sri Lanka's defeated Tamil Tiger rebels, Spanish authorities said Friday.

Spanish and Thai police are analysing material seized late on Tuesday in a joint operation in which 10 people -- eight Pakistanis, a Nigerian and a Thai national -- were arrested in the two countries, Spain's interior ministry said in a statement.

The 10 are suspected of providing forged passports to organisations linked to Al-Qaeda, including the Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba, accused of plotting the attacks in Mumbai that killed at least 166 people in November 2008, as well as to the Tamil Tigers.

Police seized forged passports, immigration documents, faked rubber stamps, computers, mobile phones, passport photos, British driving licences and sophisticated counterfeiting equipment in the swoop named Operation Kampai.

Spanish police experts "have travelled to Thailand and are working with Thailand's Department of Special Investigations to analyse the numerous documents seized from the cell," the interior ministry said Friday.

"An initial examination of photographs seized has turned up evidence of the membership of some members of the terrorist organisation the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam."

The LTTE "has perpetrated bloody attacks, many of them by suicides, such as that which killed the former Indian prime minister Rajiv Gandhi in 1991.

"Many of its members were based in Western countries, where they obtained financial assistance for the organisation through extortion and drug trafficking," it said.

The LTTE fought a violent 37-year campaign for an independent Tamil homeland in northern and eastern Sri Lanka before being crushed by government forces last year.

Thai police said on Thursday that the three arrested in Thailand -- two Pakistani men and a Thai woman -- were part of criminal networks tied to "many terrorist attacks".

These included the 2004 Madrid bombings, when blasts on packed commuter trains in a city suburb killed 191 people and wounded 1,841 others. However, Spanish authorities have not confirmed any such link to those arrested.

Spanish police detained seven suspects -- six Pakistanis and a Nigerian -- in the northeastern city of Barcelona during the operation.

-- (c) Copyright AFP 2010-12-03

[bangon04]

But the Butt contingent look like such nice guys:

Muhammad Athar Butt, right, and Zeeshan Ehsan Butt, background, both Pakistani nationals, are escorted by Thai police at the Department of Special Investigation (DSI) in Bangkok, Thailand, Thursday, Dec. 2, 2010.

Just too many opportunities for cheap "Butt" jokes here. Don't know where to start.....

[webfact]

As a general advise I recommend not to post such jokes....

[bangon04]

As a general advise I recommend not to post such jokes....

Harsh butt fair.