Briton arrested in Bangkok with 150 fake passports

Sky News ^ | Nov. 14, 2003

[tdadams]

A 25-year-old Briton has been arrested at Bangkok's international airport with 150 fake passports.

James Wilson was arrested on Monday after police found 100 fake French passports and 50 fake Belgian passports hidden in his luggage.

Wilson, from Eastbourne, said the documents belonged to a German friend and that he was delivering them to Brussels where they were to be sold, police said.

The British Foreign Office said they would not release any details until next of kin had been informed.

"We are aware of the case," a spokeswoman said.

Immigration police said they also arrested a Malaysian man named last Friday with 115 fake Spanish passports that he was trying to take to Italy.

The cases are not linked, they said.

The European Union last June criticised Thailand in a report that described the kingdom as a major centre for passport forgery.

Thai authorities claim the trade is controlled by foreigners.

European Union ministers have warned that Thailand is a key production point for counterfeit documents used by global Islamic terrorist networks.

[tdadams]

This is frightening. All around us, every day, without our knowledge, there are people who are, for ideology or profit, actively working to aid and abet terrorists who are seeking to kill us and destroy western civilization.

I think we're still not taking this threat seriously enough and too many people are naive about how widespread the network is of those working in or promoting terrorism.

[mylife]

Its amazing the crap people will do for money. This guy has no problem being a patsy for a little cash.

[DoctorMichael]

Here's hoping they whack-his-pee-pee real good.

[Tacis]

Why spend big bucks for a fake French passport when you can get an authentic Mexican matricula card from and official Mexican consular employee a whole lot cheaper? In fact, you can buy a bunch of matricula cards for the same person, using slighlty different names for about the cost of a single fake French passport. But, EVERY ONE of the matricula cards is real and authentic!!

So, if you've already been stopped for driving without insurance, get another license with a different matricula card. The stupid gringos will never know the difference. And, if you are into really serious crime, a stack of matricula cards will confuse the gringos long enough to give you time to slip back into Mexico where you'll be absolutely free. Back home, you just pick up a new set of papers, duck back into the US, get some matriculas under the new name and, "pronto, you're off on another spree."

We don' need no steenkin fake French passports, we got matricula consulars!!!

[Cicero]

Islamic terrorists have been dealing with various mob types, drug smugglers, and the like. The most obvious instance are Afghanistan and Albania, but they seem to have links to the mobs in Malaysia and the east, as well as the Latin American drug mobs. It's not a good combination. I wish I had more confidence in the ability of our intelligence agencies to deal with it.