A 49-year-old Lao national has been arrested in the city centre for smuggling tens of thousands of US dollars in fake notes from Laos to supply clients in Bangkok, police said.
City police chief Sanit Mahathavorn said Somvang Puangmalai, a Lao national, was caught in the lobby of the Sri Khung Hotel in Pomprap Sattruphai district with 1,500 fake banknotes with a face value of US$100 each.
The banknotes, with a total value of $150,000, were seized as evidence.
Pol Lt Gen Sanit said police received a tip-off there had been a delivery of fake banknotes from Laos at a hotel in Pomprap Sattruphai district.
Police took a month to locate the suspect who was to deliver the banknotes to a contact at the hotel.
A team of police was assigned to observe suspicious activity in the area and found Mr Somvang with the fake dollars in his possession, Pol Lt Gen Sanit said.
Mr Somvang told investigators he was paid 50,000 baht by a Lao man who was identified as Sang to take the money from Savannakhet province of Laos to deliver to a man at the hotel.
The suspect said he was not aware the notes were fake as Mr Sang told him he had received the money from gambling winnings. Pol Lt Gen Sanit said Mr Somvang was charged with possessing counterfeit money.
Tourist attractions in Bang Rak and Silom are often used as a point to unload counterfeit banknotes, police said.
The arrest came almost a month after Crime Suppression Division police rounded up a group of four Thai suspects for possessing fake US dollar banknotes valued at $210,000 in Sai Mai district of Bangkok.
The group allegedly confessed that they ordered the banknotes from a Lao broker.