Two Belarus citizens were arrested in Phuket on Friday with fake ATM cards used to withdraw cash totalling 1.1 million baht at several locations in Bangkok and the southern tourist island.
Photo by Achadtaya Chuenniran
Police apprehended Mikalai Ramankou and Siarhei Bandarkou, both 35, at a hotel on Rawai beach and seized from them eight counterfeit ATM cards and two passports.
Pol Lt Col Prawit Aengchuan, deputy chief of Phuket investigative division, said the arrests followed a request from Siam Commercial Bank complaining that two foreigners had used fake electronic cards to withdraw cash from ATM machines in Phuket.
An investigation found Mr Ramankou and Mr Bandarkou had arrived in Thailand on Dec 3, which is their fourth visit.
The pair had withdrawn about one million baht from ATMs in Bangkok and another 100,000 baht from six machines in Phuket. The data in the seized cards belonged to card holders residing in foreign countries.
The suspects allegedly claimed they had found the eight ATM cards, each had password in the back of the card, in a toilet at Phuket airport. They then withdrew the money from Thai ATMs and transferred the money to their bank accounts in Belarus.
The Two Belarus citizens could face a prison term of one to 10 years and a maximum fine of 200,000 baht.