Thai immigration police arrested a woman and seized several items of equipment used for making counterfeit visas today (Monday), in a raid on a condo in Bangkok’s Khannayao district.
The arrest of the woman, identified only as “Angsana”, and the seizure of fake passports and forging equipment, which included ink, pens and seals, is a follow-up operation by immigration police after a number of foreigners were found with fake visas as they were leaving Thailand.
Angsana was charged with conspiring with other people to falsify visas. An investigation found that the fake visas were probably from the same source, a company in the Bueng Kum area, which provides a service applying for visas for foreigners.
Armed with a warrant, the immigration police searched the company’semises and found 700 passports, several of them hidden above the ceiling of the first floor office. 124 fake passports were found to contain fake visas.
An employee at the company was also held for questioning.
Immigration police said that foreigners who have overstayed in Thailand sought help from brokers, who then contacted the company specialising in falsifying visas.