SURAT THANI: A 35-year-old Russian man has been arrested at a pier on Koh Samui for allegedly using fake credit cards to buy goods on the resort island. Eight counterfeit credit cards were found in his possession.
The arrest came after a bank employee alerted police to suspected irregularities in the use of credit cards on several occasions on the southern island, said Pol Col Prawit Engchuan, superintendent of the Surat Thani police.
Investigators subsequently found that counterfeit cards had been used to buy products at the Banjo Pharmacy on Samui on June 14 and 15.
On Friday evening, the suspect was spotted preparing to leave the island from Don Sak pier. He reportedly was heading for Phuket.
Pol Col Prawit said police searched the man’s car at the pier and found 12 credit cards, eight of them counterfeit. A card reading device was also found.
The man claimed some of the cards belonged to him and his wife, and some belonged to other card holders. He told police the reader belonged to a friend he identified only as Atom.
But the officers were not convinced by his story as the investigation found he was the one who had used the cards.
Vadim Valeev, 35, was charged with possession of counterfeit electronic cards and was handed over to Don Sak police for further legal action.