Three African Men Arrested in Bangkok for Forgery and Visa Overstay

BANGKOK – Acting Immigration Police Chief Maj-General Surachate Hakpal told a press briefing that 2 African men and a Thai teenager have been arrested for using forged documents to help them obtain a Visa for Thailand.

The visas of Fabrice Mbimmba Makiadi, 27, from the Congo and Nicolas Yao Kouadio, 29, from the Ivory Coast, were revoked following their arrest after forged documents were found that were to be used in applying for a visa to stay in Thailand.

The suspects reportedly told police that a female Thai agent had offered foreigners – especially footballers and language teachers – a service to get them documents to apply to legally stay in Thailand for Bt20,000 per head.

Meanwhile, police have continued their crackdown on foreign criminals, especially romance scammers, call-centre fraudsters and visa over-stayers, with the latest arrest of a 30-year-old Nigerian man who overstayed in Thailand for nearly four years.

Nigerian Cory Samuel Madubuchi, who was arrested in Nonthaburi, was also found to have 57 money-transaction slips and a cell phone with photos of good-looking white men.

National police deputy chief Pol General Rungroj Saengkhram and acting head of Thai immigration police, Maj-General Surachate Hakpal, instructed officers to continue the crackdown on foreign criminals and over-stayers.

A police source also revealed that 16 romance scam suspects (including two foreigners and 14 Thais) and three Thais accused of call-centre fraud, were arrested in an operation from November 5 to 9.

The call-centre scammers make phone calls to target victims claiming to be state officials accusing the victims for violating the law and demanding the victims wire money from their bank accounts for “investigation”.

The romance scam involves people with fake identities, often white males, contacting female victims online and tricking them into wiring money to them to pay for an import tariff and fee for the purported delivery of a gift from overseas.

By Jessada Chantharak
The Nation