Stamp out the fraud: Uzbek man licked at Phuket Airport

Immigration officers at Phuket International Airport apprehended a 35 year old Uzbek man on allegations of using forged stamps. The arrest occurred at the international arrivals hall around 9pm yesterday, October 23.

A team from the Phuket Immigration Bureau, acting on the orders of Police Major General Chengron Rimphidi, Commander of Immigration Bureau 2, carried out the operation, according to an online report by immigration officers at the airport.

The officers involved in the arrest included Police Colonel Rungroj Nilamongkol, Deputy Commander of Immigration Bureau 2, and Police Colonel Atisak Panya, Superintendent of Immigration Bureau 2.

The investigation, led by Police Lieutenant Colonel Akkaraphon Keawkiattiyot and Senior Sergeant Major Aksorn Chawkamkhet from the Phuket Immigration Checkpoint, detained the suspect on charges of using a forged seal, stamp, or stamping sheet, as confirmed by the report.

The Uzbek man was taken into custody at the airport and subsequently transferred to Sakhu Police Station for further legal proceedings, reported The Phuket News.

The suspect’s name was not disclosed in the report, and the specific stamps in the passport that were allegedly forged were not detailed.

In related news, the Thai police arrested three agency operators for forging documents to submit visa applications to various embassies, seizing numerous counterfeit items. The suspects confessed to their crimes and are now facing legal proceedings.

At 11am on May 28, at the Immigration Office in Mueang Thong Thani, Deputy Commander-in-Chief Panthana Nuchnarot, along with Deputy Commander-in-Chief Ratchachot Chotikoon and other relevant officers, announced the results of an investigation coordinated with several embassies in Thailand.

These embassies had raised suspicions that hundreds of Thai nationals applying for visas to European countries were submitting fake documents. Upon receiving these concerns, the Immigration Bureau’s specialised unit was instructed to verify the documents.

The investigation revealed that many of the documents submitted by Thai applicants, such as employment certificates, bank statements, and financial endorsements, were counterfeit.