Crime
Iranian Woman Arrested at Bangkok ‘s Suvarnabhumi Airport for Using Forged British Passport
Ms Darya Sheida, 26, an Iranian national, is quesioned by immigration police at Suvarnabhumi airport. – Photo Sutthiwit Chayutworakan
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BANGKOK – Immigration police at Suvarnabhumi International Airport arrested an Iranian woman Wednesday for using a British passport of another person.
The woman who used the UK passport name as Ms Mary Catherine Newland arrived from Phuket on PG270 flight on transit to the United Kingdom.
Immigration police said after questioning the woman that her real name was Ms Darya Sheida, 26, an Iranian national.
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She confessed to the immigration police of travelling from Tehran to an eastern European country to receive a British passport under the name of Ms Mary Catherine Newland.
She said she bought the passport for US$ 1,300 (43,000 baht) before arriving in Thailand.
Immigration police said they believed she carried the passport of other person to travel to United Kingdom.
Immigration police said they would charge her for using other person’s passport for travel, and also for producing false information to authorities.
Immigration police said they have tightened security checks on groups of foreigners using passports of other persons for travel which was a criminal tool used specifically by international terrorists and financial criminals to avoid inspection.
They said that just in the first month of this year, immigration police have arrested three foreigners who used passports of other persons on plane travels.
They said the immigration police have warned travelers to be aware of passport theft as stolen passports could be sold to criminal gangs or illegal immigrants for illegal use.
