BANGKOK — Another case has emerged of Iranian criminals requesting to see foreign tourists’ money before stealing it in Bangkok. In this latest incident, one of the perpetrators went as far as impersonating a police officer ask to inspect the victim’s shoulder bag and then stole money.
On October 21 at 7:30 p.m., officers at Bang Rak Police Station revealed that they coordinated with immigration officers to arrest Mr. Ghiasi, a 53-year-old Iranian national. The suspect was apprehended while attempting to flee the country to Malaysia at the Sadao Immigration Checkpoint (outbound) in Samnak Kham Subdistrict, Sadao District, Songkhla Province.
Officials found evidence including the outfit worn during the crime and seized several pieces of physical and documentary evidence, including various foreign currencies such as Malaysian Ringgit, Uzbekistani Som, Iranian Rial, and Thai Baht.
This case began when Mr. Syed, a Pakistani tourist, filed a report at Bang Rak Police Station on August 17, 2024. He stated that around 4:29 p.m., while walking on Silom Road near Decho Junction in Bang Rak District, Bangkok, a man posing as a police officer asked to search his bag and stole ten $100 bills without him noticing until later.
On August 31, 2024, around 1:45 p.m., Bang Rak police received another report from Mr. Kan Lin, a Myanmar tourist. He and his sister were walking on Silom Road near a MIXUE shop when a man claiming to be a tourist police officer asked to search Kan Lin’s shoulder bag while ordering his sister to stay away.
The man took out an envelope containing 3,150 pounds sterling from Kan Lin’s bag and used a trick of dropping some bills on the ground to distract him while pocketing other bills. He then said, “Everything checks out, excuse me,” before fleeing in a white car waiting nearby.
After reviewing CCTV footage from both incidents, Bang Rak investigators found that the same two perpetrators were involved. One drove and rented the car using forged documents, while the other carried out the robberies wearing a wig or hat and a face mask.
The investigation revealed that both suspects were Iranian nationals who entered Thailand on tourist visas. Bang Rak police gathered evidence and obtained arrest warrants for both Iranian suspects on September 23, on charges of “jointly committing theft by impersonating others, disguising or altering appearance to avoid recognition, and falsely claiming to be an official, using a vehicle to facilitate the crime or escape arrest.”
On October 18, around 1:45 p.m., immigration officers at Sadao checkpoint arrested Mr. Ghiasi. The other suspect is still at large.
This criminal trick is similar to three previous cases this year where the suspects were also Iranian and the victims were foreign tourists. In those cases, the first victim was a Chinese man, the next was a Russian woman, and then the victim was a Saudi Arabian man.
Police Colonel Thammasak Saraboon, Superintendent of Bang Rak Police Station, has warned business owners in tourist areas about these thieves posing as police officers and asking to search bags or check tourists’ money. He advised not to fall for this trick.
The police have also created posters to warn foreign tourists. Any foreign tourists or victims who suspect they may have encountered the same criminals can contact the investigation division of Bang Rak Police Station 24/7 for information about the suspects’ descriptions and the vehicle used in the crimes.
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