Fool’s gold: 2 Thai women caught in golden scam crackdown

Police arrested two Thai women for pawning fake gold accessories at various gold shops in Bangkok and other provinces in Thailand. The two denied the accusations, claiming that another man tricked them into committing the crime.

The most recent scam, which took place at a pawn shop in Central Chaengwattana in the Pak Kret district of Nonthaburi province, led to the arrest of the two suspects, 39 year old Sukanya and 39 year old Chanida, on Thursday, September 26. Chanida was arrested at her condominium in Bangkok, while Sukanya was apprehended outside an ice factory in Bangkok.

A worker at the pawn shop filed a complaint with Pak Kret Police Station after the theft occurred on December 11 last year, 2023. The worker reported that Sukanya and Chanida had pawned a gold necklace weighing 45.75 grammes and valued at 90,827 baht.

The worker weighed the necklace and tested its purity by performing a test on the necklace’s hook. The test indicated that the necklace was real with a purity of 96.5% and no reaction during the procedure. Consequently, the worker transferred the money to Sukanya’s bank account.

The headquarters of the pawn shop chain later notified the worker that Sukanya and her friend, Chanida, were wanted by the police for multiple pawn shop scams in Bangkok and other provinces.

Following this, the worker retested the gold necklace, this time testing the entire necklace, not just the hook. When the workers burned the necklace, they discovered that the entire piece melted except for the hook.

It then became clear that the scammers used a real gold hook to make the fake accessories pass the test. The worker gathered evidence and filed a complaint with the police.

During questioning, the two women admitted to pawning fake gold accessories at numerous shops. They claimed that a Thai man named Bird had hired them for 5,000 baht to carry out the scams. However, they insisted they were unaware the accessories were counterfeit.

The police were not convinced by their claims and are now conducting further investigations to apprehend the man known as Bird and identify any additional suspects.

Sukanya and Chanida have been charged under Section 341 of the Criminal Code for committing fraud. The penalty is imprisonment of up to three years, a fine of up to 60,000 baht, or both.