PATTAYA: Three Iranian men arrested on Friday allegedly for trying to exchange nine counterfeit US$100 notes at a local booth told police they brought the money from their home country.
Arrested with the fake money were Majid Shokri, 30, Hamid Moutabchi, 36, and Mahdi Latifi, 31.
Police said the operator of a local currency exchange booth named The Winner Excellence on Soi 6 off Pattaya Sai Song Road informed them that the foreigners tried to exchange counterfeit notes for Thai baht. Police found them with the notes and made the arrest.
Police quoted the Iranian men as saying that they took the notes from Iran and visited Thailand for the first time.