Immigration police arrested two Liberian men in central Bangkok on Thursday over a black dollar scam and found they possessed fake US dollar banknotes.
Immigration police commissioner Nathathorn Prousoontorn said David Neal, 40, and Mathas Davies, 53, were arrested in their rented room on Sukhumvit 4 Road (Nana Tai Road) in Klong Toey district with 60 fake US dollar notes with a denomination value of about $5,000.
The men allegedly confessed that they had lured many Thai and foreign victims into believing that they had a special chemical that could erase a black coat from dollar banknotes they obtained from a charity fund of the United Nations. Many victims believed them and bought the chemical at a cost of 100,000 to 500,000 baht, Pol Lt Gen Nathathorn said.
The Liberians had overstayed their tourist visas for years and rented the apartment room for eight months before the arrest, he said.
Police were seeking a Thai accomplice and the source of the counterfeit notes, he said.