Thai Police sting nets near-perfect counterfeit US dollars

[webfact]

Police sting nets near-perfect counterfeit dollars
By Coconuts Bangkok



BANGKOK: -- A Thai team trading in some of the finest counterfeit currency ever found has been arrested.

Boonpat Kijpaisan, 52, and Issarachan Sukkasem, 48, and two other members of their group were caught in a sting near at a hotel in Bagkhen district, consumer protection police officials said.

The four were arrested with 280 USD100 bills – equivalent to nearly THB1 million – which undercover police officers had offered to buy for THB440,000.

According to US Embassy, these fake bills can pass counterfeit bill detectors at banks and are the second-best bogus bills ever seized.

Police said Issarachan admitted to buying the fake dollars from [read more...]

Full story: http://bangkok.coconuts.co/2014/04/23/police-sting-nets-near-perfect-counterfeit-dollars


-- Coconuts Bangkok 2014-04-23

[terryp]

its only what the US Fed has been doing since 2008......................

[Dumu Ali]

Fake Louis Vuittons, Fake Monks, Fake Women, Fake job offers, fake cocaine, fake rolex sold on silom sidewalk - everything fake so fake dollar is not a surprise in the hub of fakes

[smutcakes]

Good on the investigation team and the police for once. I did note that not unsurprisingly they suspected the notes were done in a neighboring country. For once i would of thought that Thailand should have claimed some kudos for the quality of workmanship on show.

[Loles]

Yes, if you have to make anything fake you may ask help from Thai experts, they are have many experiences.

[BarnicaleBob]

By the looks of the bills I would bet they were made in North Korea, they are very good at that sort of thing.

[winstonc]

Fake Louis Vuittons, Fake Monks, Fake Women, Fake job offers, fake cocaine, fake rolex sold on silom sidewalk - everything fake so fake dollar is not a surprise in the hub of fakes

you forgot to add smiles too..they only realized they were fake because they were issued by the bank of yeehaa..(sorry)..taxi for winston..

[enjoybeing]

its only what the US Fed has been doing since 2008......................

Great post but I'd have to say it started in 1913 or at the very latest in1971 when Nixon took the dollar off the Gold Standard.

[Tomtomtom69]

Fake Louis Vuittons, Fake Monks, Fake Women, Fake job offers, fake cocaine, fake rolex sold on silom sidewalk - everything fake so fake dollar is not a surprise in the hub of fakes

+1

However, don't forget fake viagra, fake cigarettes, and the "fake" hub claims, doctoring of tourism statistics to make it look like the country is receiving 5 million more tourists every year compared to the previous year, etc.

[Tomtomtom69]

By the looks of the bills I would bet they were made in North Korea, they are very good at that sort of thing.

Correct.

Yet the article claims they were produced in a "neighboring" country. Yeah right, like anyone in dirt poor Cambodia, Laos or Myanmar has the resources and materials to produce such good quality notes. If these notes were faked in the region, one need look no further than Thailand itself. However, I agree with you that North Korea is most likely, as they are widely accused of being the hub of fake US dollar bills. Thailand in this case is likely merely a trading hub - and given that one can apparently fly direct from Pyongyang to Bangkok on Air Koryo (who the hell is catching these flights and why do they even exist, certainly not Thai tourists! Similarly, North Korea doesn't produce any tourists), it's easy to see how they made their way from North Korea to Thailand.

[Thaiisnotrequired]

Only 280 bills?

Must have been hand-crafted at Benjarong with gold

[masuk]

By the looks of the bills I would bet they were made in North Korea, they are very good at that sort of thing.

It's one of the Arabian countries which has the Swiss-made high pressure printing presses.

[Cow San Load]

one wonders just how good the counterfeit job is if they are willing to sell them at a greater than 50% discount on face value and for thai baht at that!

[ignis]

Real or Counterfeit ??

[HooHaa]

By the looks of the bills I would bet they were made in North Korea, they are very good at that sort of thing.

Correct.

Yet the article claims they were produced in a "neighboring" country. Yeah right, like anyone in dirt poor Cambodia, Laos or Myanmar has the resources and materials to produce such good quality notes. If these notes were faked in the region, one need look no further than Thailand itself. However, I agree with you that North Korea is most likely, as they are widely accused of being the hub of fake US dollar bills. Thailand in this case is likely merely a trading hub - and given that one can apparently fly direct from Pyongyang to Bangkok on Air Koryo (who the hell is catching these flights and why do they even exist, certainly not Thai tourists! Similarly, North Korea doesn't produce any tourists), it's easy to see how they made their way from North Korea to Thailand.

your naivete is endearing.

[HooHaa]

one wonders just how good the counterfeit job is if they are willing to sell them at a greater than 50% discount on face value and for thai baht at that!

i suspect quite good as 50% on the dollar is high for counterfeits, they can always make more, and avoid the risk altogether in passing the bills.

[JesseFrank]

By the looks of the bills I would bet they were made in North Korea, they are very good at that sort of thing.

Correct.

Yet the article claims they were produced in a "neighboring" country. Yeah right, like anyone in dirt poor Cambodia, Laos or Myanmar has the resources and materials to produce such good quality notes. If these notes were faked in the region, one need look no further than Thailand itself. However, I agree with you that North Korea is most likely, as they are widely accused of being the hub of fake US dollar bills. Thailand in this case is likely merely a trading hub - and given that one can apparently fly direct from Pyongyang to Bangkok on Air Koryo (who the hell is catching these flights and why do they even exist, certainly not Thai tourists! Similarly, North Korea doesn't produce any tourists), it's easy to see how they made their way from North Korea to Thailand.

So did you see another picture of the counterfeit dollars, then the one taken at a distance where one would not be able to spot a Euro if they laid it between, that is posted in the Thai source article.

Naah, it is your armchair expertise that comes above.

[hidavey]

Hmmmm, Made In China?

[focus27]

In Myanmar, the blackmarket exchangers have an obsession with only accepting mint condition dollars. The legit banks don't care.

I've always wondered why they needed them in mint, just-off-the-press condition.

[JesseFrank]

In Myanmar, the blackmarket exchangers have an obsession with only accepting mint condition dollars. The legit banks don't care.

I've always wondered why they needed them in mint, just-off-the-press condition.

Probably because you will have a hard time exchanging a used bill in Asia.

[Luk Mhee]

By the looks of the bills I would bet they were made in North Korea, they are very good at that sort of thing.

Correct.

Yet the article claims they were produced in a "neighboring" country. Yeah right, like anyone in dirt poor Cambodia, Laos or Myanmar has the resources and materials to produce such good quality notes. If these notes were faked in the region, one need look no further than Thailand itself. However, I agree with you that North Korea is most likely, as they are widely accused of being the hub of fake US dollar bills. Thailand in this case is likely merely a trading hub - and given that one can apparently fly direct from Pyongyang to Bangkok on Air Koryo (who the hell is catching these flights and why do they even exist, certainly not Thai tourists! Similarly, North Korea doesn't produce any tourists), it's easy to see how they made their way from North Korea to Thailand.

Perhaps they were printed in Disneyland, but they forgot to change the picture to Micky Mouse? Or was it actually intended to be used in the “Fake” monopoly game?

[ezzra]

consumer protection police officials?????

anywhere else in the world it would be handled by the equivalent to the FBI or similar...

[Scarpolo]

if there is fake dollars being gamed here, you can bet the FBI is already here, as well, the Secret Service

why would a Thai police agency care?

they were led to the crime, my 2 ct

[tingtongdingdong]

By the looks of the bills I would bet they were made in North Korea, they are very good at that sort of thing.

Correct.

Yet the article claims they were produced in a "neighboring" country. Yeah right, like anyone in dirt poor Cambodia, Laos or Myanmar has the resources and materials to produce such good quality notes. If these notes were faked in the region, one need look no further than Thailand itself. However, I agree with you that North Korea is most likely, as they are widely accused of being the hub of fake US dollar bills. Thailand in this case is likely merely a trading hub - and given that one can apparently fly direct from Pyongyang to Bangkok on Air Koryo (who the hell is catching these flights and why do they even exist, certainly not Thai tourists! Similarly, North Korea doesn't produce any tourists), it's easy to see how they made their way from North Korea to Thailand.

you don't have a clue Cambodia is dirt poor but they are corrupt to the core so its a playground for the making all types of contraband.

[MMarlow]

Yes, if you have to make anything fake you may ask help from Thai experts, they are have many experiences.

These notes were not made by Thais apparently but don't let facts get in the way of another bash.

[MMarlow]

By the looks of the bills I would bet they were made in North Korea, they are very good at that sort of thing.

Have you seen the notes? You would be able to tell the difference between the real thing and N. Korean notes from a photo (that is a stock photo, if it wasn't there would be police and the accused shown) ?

[MMarlow]

consumer protection police officials?????

anywhere else in the world it would be handled by the equivalent to the FBI or similar...

Arrests were made so what does it matter? Maybe the US equivalent of the 'consumer protection police' aren't bright enough to pull off an operation like this and would need to hand it over to the FBI or similar.

[unanimosity]

its only what the US Fed has been doing since 2008......................

Did he say he bought them from a wimpy black metrosexual?

[unanimosity]

Yes, if you have to make anything fake you may ask help from Thai experts, they are have many experiences.

These notes were not made by Thais apparently but don't let facts get in the way of another bash.

And you have facts that they weren't printed in Thailand? Thailand has the most sophisticated printing facilities and expertise, even equalling Singapore the former printing leader in this region. Major brands contract heavy printing in Thailand regularly due to the printing expertise.

The way to locate counterfeiters is to follow the paper. Only one specific type of paper, Crane's Bond, can be used to print U.S. currency and that paper is hard to purchase and easy to follow by chain of custody. There are only so many counterfeit papers that could be used so the paper is the key.

[unanimosity]

Yes, if you have to make anything fake you may ask help from Thai experts, they are have many experiences.

These notes were not made by Thais apparently but don't let facts get in the way of another bash.

Okay fact basher, where are your facts that it was not printed in Thailand? Major brands print big jobs in Thailand on a regular basis due to the modern printing facilities and expertise that has even surpassed Singapore, the former printing leader in the region. You bashed Loies, so you must have facts it was not printed in Thailand, right? Show 'em, and don't just quote somebody's supposition.

The key to tracking counterfeiters is the paper. Only Crane's Bond can be used to print U.S. currency and that paper is highly controlled and hard to get. Counterfeit paper approaching the Crane quality would also be hard to come by and paper is typically track-able by chain of custody. A small scale operation would be harder to track by paper but the larger the counterfeit operation the more the paper tracking becomes important.