CHIANG MAI – The Technology Crime Suppression Division (TCSD) of the Royal Thai Police announced the arrest of two French men who were members of a gang producing and selling fake IDs across the continent.
The TCSD received a tip-off from the French embassy that fake French ID cards were being sold on the dark web, causing a loss of over 90 million euros, or around 4 billion baht.It was found that the fake ID cards were being sent from Thailand under the name of Mr. Francois, a 51-year-old French citizen who has been living in Chiang Mai with his Thai wife and daughter for about 15 years.
The authorities of the two countries then worked together to investigate the case under the International Mutual Legal Assistance Treaty. The TCSD obtained search warrants for two locations.
The first site was a house in the Hang Dong district of Chiang Mai, where Mr. Francois lived. The TCSD found only his Thai wife, Mrs. Wichiraphan, and her daughter in the house. Mr. Francois had already returned to France.
Mrs. Wichiraphan said that her husband had no regular job, but he taught languages to children in a local foundation. She said that he always had money to support the family, but she did not know where he got it from.
During the search, the TCSD seized evidence of counterfeit ID card manufacturing, including computers, laminators, printers, paper cutters, corner cutters, logo stamps, passbooks, cryptocurrency documents, data storage devices, and other evidence, totaling nearly 30 items.
The second location was an apartment in Chiang Mai’s Nong Pa Khrang district where Mr. Jonathan, a 33-year-old French national, was suspected of selling fake IDs via cryptocurrency. During the search, the TCSD seized several computers and tablets. The TCSD also discovered that Mr. Jonathan had previously taught languages at the same foundation as Mr. Francois.
The TCSD will send the seized evidence for further examination and will report the results to the French authorities, who will use the evidence to prosecute Mr. Francois. Mr. Francois was arrested in France at the end of 2023.
