Damn! I wonder how much they managed to pass off before being caught. Think this will cause the money exchangers to act funny again?

Or maybe it's ghost money, LoL?









Three Thai nationals, including a military commander, were arrested Friday by Battambang provincial police for being in possession of more than $7 million in counterfeit U.S. dollars, police said.

Battambang police had been investigating the trio for more than a month and lured them into the sting with an undercover operative acting as a currency trader. They were arrested in Phnom Proek district shortly after crossing the O’Romduol border checkpoint.

“On Friday, police detained three Thais—Chit Kit 47, Pla Mot, 48, and Chamrat Vongsa, 51—in Phnom Proek district’s O’Romduol commune, and we confiscated $7,160,000 in U.S. currency,” said Song Sopheak, Phnom Proek district police chief.

The entire haul was in $100 bills.

“We have been investigating them for more than one month and we used our spy to make an appointment with them to change money so we could detain them,” he said, adding that none of the three were carrying passports.

Mr. Sopheak said the suspects had been sent to the provincial police station in Battambang City for questioning.

He said that through their investigation, police had established that exchanging counterfeit U.S. dollars was a steady business for the trio.

Chet Vanny, deputy provincial police chief, confirmed that one of the three detained men was a high-ranking Thai military officer posted near the Thai-Cambodian border.

“Chamrat Vongsa, one Thai man among the three detained, is the commander of the Thai military’s Company 522, which is stationed along the frontline of the border,” Mr. Vanny said.

“We detained them following our investigations but I can not tell you more about the process of the police investigation,” he added.

Battambang provincial governor Chan Sophal said the three Thais would face jail time if found guilty of trafficking counterfeit money.

“Police are questioning, so we will give them time to do their duty,” Mr. Sophal said, declining to comment further.

The Thai Embassy in Cambodia could not be reached for comment.

In January, a Royal Cambodian Armed Forces officer and his son-in-law were arrested for producing more than $50,000 worth of fake U.S. $100 banknotes in Battambang province.

Lieutenant Colonel Soy Vansak was arrested in Battambang City a day after his son-in-law, Tang Thearith, was thwarted as he attempted to use the fake bills at a local market in Poipet City.

Mr. Thearith was carrying 203 fraudulent $100 bills. The following day, he led police.....

...click link to continue reading...

http://www.cambodiadaily.com/news/thais ... ash-68263/

By KHY SOVUTHY

I sense some battambang cops spending big over the next few months with some funny money.

Digg3r wrote:I sense some battambang cops spending big over the next few months with some funny money.

Surely not!

Thank goodness it's the non-corrupt military like these guys who are calling all the shots in Thailand now.

bangkokpost.com wrote:Fake bill bust leaves navy red-faced Officers 'smuggled cash to Cambodia'
Published: 21 Sep 2014
The Royal Thai Navy has suspended two of its officers arrested in Cambodia with about 7 million (225 million baht) in fake US currency.

http://www.bangkokpost.com/news/crimes/ ... -red-faced

Just out of curiosity I'd like to see one of those bills. I wonder how close they are, always wondered about them.

Soi Dog wrote:Fake bill bust leaves navy red-faced Officers

Are they calling themselves the red shirts or the red faced now?

Thai politics are so hard to follow.

Authorities in Battambang province on Sunday charged two Thai nationals who were arrested on Friday with more than $7 million in suspected counterfeit U.S. notes, but released a Thai military commander apprehended with them, claiming he had nothing to do with the alleged crime.

Captain Chamras Pongsart, 52; Sub-Lieutenant Pramote Raisiri, 48; and Kittithamet Meethekulsawat, 47, a civilian, were arrested in Battambang’s Phnom Proek district while trying to exchange the counterfeit cash for real bills with undercover Cambodian officers, police said. The arrest came shortly after the trio crossed the O’Romduol border checkpoint.

Provincial deputy court prosecutor Heng Luy said Sub-Lt. Pramote and Mr. Kittithamet were both charged with transporting counterfeit currency and sent to pretrial detention.

“We already sent the case of the two Thais to an investigating judge and they are now in pretrial detention at the provincial prison,” Mr. Luy said.

“The two people will receive another charge if the judge thinks they are also guilty of circulating counterfeit currency, but [the suspects] told us they were just following orders from some people in Thailand,” he said.

Aun Hvay, head of the provincial police department’s serious crimes bureau, said authorities were still not certain whether the bills in their possession, all $100 notes, were in fact counterfeit.

“We do not yet know if the money is real or fake because we are waiting for the bank to check it,” he said.

Mr. Hvay said that the third suspect, Capt. Chamras, was released “because he was not involved with this case.”

“We trust him because he had documents to prove he was not involved,” he said, declining to explain what those documents were or answer further questions.

Deputy district police chief Sareth Viseth said all three Thai men were present while attempting to exchange the suspected fake $7,160,000 for $600,000 in real bills.

“Mr. Pongsart [Capt. Chamras] told us that the other two asked him to accompany them across the border to Cambodia but did not know that fake money was in the suitcase,” he said.

Mr. Viseth did not explain why the captain had accompanied the other two men into Cambodia.

The Bangkok Post on Sunday identified Capt. Chamras as the commander of Company 522 of the Thai military’s Marine unit and Sub-Lt. Pramote as a deputy chief of Thailand’s.....

...click link to continue reading...

http://www.cambodiadaily.com/news/two-t ... ree-68275/

The Chinese and North Korean governments are suppose to be able to print some really authentic looking $100. bills. The big problem is getting the "rag" paper. The new $100. bills are kind of interesting to look at. I doubt if the bills that were confiscated in this bust are new $100. bills.

Why are they over in Cambodia instead of Thailand. Seems like in Thailand they were connected.