Thais apprehended for creating 9,000 counterfeit US$100 bills

According to a report made by the Thai Cyber Police today, a Thai man and a Thai woman were arrested for making $900,000 or 34 million baht worth of counterfeit $100 bills. A member of the United States Secret Service stationed at the United States Embassy in Bangkok determined that the bills were believable after completing a check. Torsak Sookwimon, the Deputy Commissioner of the Royal Thai Police, informed the media of the arrest details today. Torsak added that a number of local money exchanges reported to the police that they were misled into obtaining counterfeit dollar bills over social media. The fraud was perpetrated by the same person. Torsak revealed that members of the law enforcement agency posed as consumers and arranged a meeting with a person selling counterfeit dollars at a condominium in the Pak Kret area of Nonthaburi province in Nonthaburi province close to Bangkok. The meeting, according to Torsak, took place on a Saturday. 49-year-old Monsagee La-ong-nuan arrived at the apartment carrying a black tote bag with 2,000 counterfeit $100 U.S. dollars.

Police took Monsagee into custody and questioned him. She claimed that she had obtained the counterfeit currency from a man named Phanudeth Wongnamnong, who was 58 years old and resided in the Phra Bath neighborhood of Lampang, which is located in northern Thailand. Local police in Lampang organized a meeting with Phanudeth at a shopping center, posing as a potential client. The cops were able to seize an additional 7,000 counterfeit dollars from Phanudeth. The police discovered counterfeit bills for a total of $900,000 USD or 34 million Thai Baht. The two con artists were prosecuted under Criminal Laws sections 240 and 247, which deal with counterfeiting and altering: counterfeiting a foreign government-issued currency, banknote, or other things. Altering a foreign coin, banknote, or other government-issued items. The two defendants might be sentenced to between five and ten years in prison and a fine between ten thousand and twenty thousand baht.