Thai police seize 173 fake passports
Immigration police in Thailand have seized 173 fake passports and arrested six foreigners during a raid on a house in the central province of Chachoengsao, officers said on Tuesday.
Iranian national Hamid Reza Jafary, known as "The Doctor" and who authorities say has been on their radar for years, was arrested alongside five Pakistani men on Monday after officers received a tip-off that the group were forging A-grade counterfeit passports, EFE news reported.
The forged documents, most of which imitated European passports, were allegedly sold to international human trafficking gangs who ordered them online.
Nathathorn Prousoontorn, the Immigration Bureau commissioner, said "The Doctor" Jafary had lived in Thailand for over 25 years and charged customers 50,000 to 80,000 baht ($1,400 to $2,250) per fake passport.
During the raid, police also confiscated 34 printers bought in China that were used to make the passports, 18 watermark blocks and a number of fake Thai visas, all of which was found in the house.