Two Chinese held for suspected card forgery

CHON BURI: Two Chinese men have been arrested and many fake electronic cards and other items seized during a raid on a house in Pattaya they rented as a base allegedly to forge the cards.

A team of police on Saturday searched the house at the Sea Gull Village housing estate in Jomtien beach and found 17 fake electronic cards, three PCs, three mobile phones, a set of decoded magnetic stripe data, 15,000-baht cash and other items used in making credit cards.

Two Chinese nationals — Chen Hung Cheng, 27, and Wang Fuhui, 30 — were arrested at the house, said Pol Col Apichai Krobphet, superintendent of Pattaya city police, who led the raid. Tourist police and immigration officers also joined the search.

The raid followed information two members of a Chinese credit card forgery gang had rented the house in Pattaya to make fake electronic cards. Police began the investigation and later sought court approval for a search warrant.

During the interrogation, the suspects reportedly confessed to forging the electronic cards of which holders were in other countries. They also implicated another gang member in Laos who had allegedly supplied them with credit cards to forge.

The fake cards were later sent back to the gang member in Laos to purchase goods and withdraw cash.

The pair told police that they only used Pattaya as the base to produce the fake cards, said Pol Col Apichai.

The suspects were held in police custody at Pattaya City police station for further questioning. They were charged with colluding in falsifying and using electronic cards. 

Police would coordinate with Lao police for more information about the credit card forgery operation.

Pattaya police chief Pol Col Apichai Krobphet interrogate two Chinese suspects caught during a raid on a house in Pattaya, Chon Buri province, with many fake electronic cards. (Photo by Chaiyot Pupattanapong)