CSD stays hot on the heels of counterfeiters

[Admin]

CSD stays hot on the heels of counterfeiters
Two men who allegedly sold fake banknotes may be the key to cracking the scam,
BANGKOK POST: Newspaper section: News
Published: 29/03/2010 at 12:00 AM
Crime Suppression Division and US Secret Service investigators hope the arrest of two suspected sellers of fake greenbacks is the first step on the path to catching the masterminds behind the operation.



Panya Phuyodnil, 39, was arrested in Muang district in Ubon Ratchathani on March 3 for allegedly trafficking counterfeit notes. Pratchya Boonwanno, 65, was nabbed on March 23 in Muang district, Nonthaburi, on the same charge.

The two were arrested in different locations but police said the 1,040 fake US$100 (3,240 baht) bills they had sold between them had come from the same source as the bills were identical. The fraudulent bills had a face value of more than 3 million baht.

Mr Panya and Mr Pratchya denied the charges, saying they were not aware the bills were fakes.

But Thai investigators were confident they had enough evidence to take legal action.

One rationale the CSD will use to convince prosecutors of the suspects' guilt is intent. The CSD will state the suspects went to commercial banks to change the fake notes into baht more than once.

Another key piece of evidence is a document detailing information allegedly written by Mr Pratchya. A piece of paper found at his house listed banks he had visited to convert the counterfeit bills into Thai currency.

The investigation began in April last year when the CSD was alerted by officers from the US Secret Service based in Bangkok which had detected what it called a "super note".

The term refers to a high quality counterfeit note. It is almost identical to the real thing; tellers at commercial banks cannot distinguish between the two. The US government considers the super note a threat to its economy and the Secret Service has fanned out agents around the world to hunt down the producers.

After being contacted by the US agency, acting CSD chief Supisarn Bhakdinarinath set up a team to work with his American partners.

The two agencies began tracing the fake notes in Thailand after the headquarters of a commercial bank in Bangkok and the Secret Service found one of its branches in Muang district in Ubon Ratchathani had received some fake bills through its currency exchange service on April 10 last year.

The bank filed a complaint with police in the province. The US agency then sought the cooperation of all commercial banks to check if they had received any super notes through their currency exchange services. It was found later that there were more than 1,000 super note bills in the hands of commercial banks in the northeastern province and Bangkok, said Sutthiwet Boonyaratkalin of the CSD's Division 1, one member of the investigating team.

Other members assigned by Pol Col Supisarn included Pol Lt Col Theeradet Thamsuthee, deputy chief of Division 1, and Pol Capt Apisit Mekprayoon.

The CSD said notes were exchanged at banks in Min Buri and Lat Phrao districts in Bangkok.

After consulting the US agency, Ubon Ratchathani police did not arrest the two suspects right away because they were considered to be just a small part of a larger super note trafficking network.

After almost one year, the investigation team has gathered enough information on the trafficking routes and people involved in the network.

"We finally decided to arrest the two suspects because we no longer need them in our investigation," Pol Maj Sutthiwet said.

CSD officers believe the two were members of a network based in Bangkok which bought the $100 fake bills from foreigners for between $80 and $85 each.

The two allegedly were used to exchange them into Thai notes at commercial banks, they said.

"Right now, we're in the middle of gathering evidence to seek arrest warrants [for all suspects] from the court," Pol Maj Sutthiwet said.

Pol Col Supisarn, who was trained in tracking counterfeit money in the US, said: "The seized super note bills were the best ever found in Thailand. They were much better than those seized in 1986."

The acting CSD chief was confident that the notes were produced in North Korea and, based on the investigation, were brought into Thailand from Cambodia.

The super notes tend to be produced in countries that have hostile relations with the US - for example, North Korea and some eastern European countries, Pol Col Supisarn said.

The case is far from being wrapped up. The CSD is in hot pursuit of other members. But patience is the key to success, Pol Maj Sutthiwet said.

"This is not a difficult case," he said. "It's not dangerous. But it takes time and it requires patience. The crime hasn't physically hurt anyone, but it has seriously hurt the economy."

Contact Crime Track: crimetrack@bangkokpost.co.th