Tourist Policeman and 2 Russians Caught with Fake ATM Cards

November 19, 2013

Police have arrested 2 Russians and a tourist policeman for using fake ATM cards to withdraw money from ATM machines. The police found the offenders with 2.9 million baht in cash and 328 fake credit and ATM cards.

Nakorn Ratchaseema, November 18, 2013 [PDN]: Police officers of Muang Nakorn Ratchaseeman police station, and Poklang police station held a press conference to announce they had arrested 3 suspects the first was POL.SEN.SGT.MAJ. Nontapan, Sangsuk, 37 years old Thai national tourist police officer, Mr.Vasili Ivanov, 27 years old Russian and Mr. Sergey Peternhof, 38 years old Russian in their possession they had 328 fake credit cards and 2.9 million baht in cash.

The police were made aware that there was a group of Russians with fake credit cards and ATM cards who were withdrawing money from ATMs across the country and then fled to hide in Nakhon Ratchasima. Plain clothed police officers were sent to observe ATM boxes in various areas in Nakhon Ratchasima.

On the night of November 17, police watched two foreigners who went to withdraw money from a Krungthai bank located in front of the City Hall in Nakhon Ratchasima. They both acted suspiciously and they took a long time to withdraw money so the police approached them and searched them and found more than 100 ATM and credit cards, and 50,000 baht in cash in one of their pockets.

During the police raid they noticed a bronze Toyota Wish, Sor Ror 5501, Bangkok ,which came to pick up the two suspects but the driver noticed that the police were there arresting them and tried to drive away, so the police intercepted the car. The driver was Pol.Sen.Serg.Maj. Nontapan, a tourist police officer. Upon searching the car the police found another 200 fake ATM and credit cards, 3 cell phones and 2.8 million baht cash.

When asking Pol.Sen.Serg.Maj. Nontapan, he said that he was the driver, and he got paid 10 % of the money they withdrew, and he had done it many times. He used his police authority to avoid the other police officers. If stopped he would say he was picking up tourists but as for the cards, he did not know where the Russians got them from.

The Russians confessed that all the cards were foreign and the information on the cards was from foreigners. They used the tourist police officer because they were caught by him before and bribed him, after that the tourist police man became their driver.

However, the police found that the fake electronic cards were forged from 50 countries; the police believed that the gang used equipment to copy the information from a Skimmer to copy electronic cards’ information from ATMs across the country. Now the police officers are expanding their investigation to arrest the rest of the gang because they believe it to be a nationwide gang.