Police tackle forged travel documents ahead of AEC
Interpol targets scourge of fake visas, passports, writes Wassayos Ngamkham
As it prepares for the Asean Economic Community (AEC) at the end of this year, the Royal Thai Police Office (RTPO) is cracking down on the use of counterfeit travel documents to prevent Thailand becoming a transnational crime hub.
The policy will be carried out by the RTPO’s AEC preparation centre, which opens on Wednesday.
Aside from providing assistance and security for foreign tourists and businessmen, the centre was set up to tackle transnational crime, especially passport and visa forgeries.
Pol Gen Wuthi Liptapallop, deputy commissioner of the RTPO, said authorities have made the suppression of counterfeit travel documents a priority because the issue is listed by Interpol among nine transnational crimes which demand attention.
Interpol lists them as crimes related to drugs, arms and human trafficking, terrorism, maritime fraud, international financial fraud, economic and computer crimes and forged travel documents.
Pol Gen Wuthi said Interpol focuses on passport and visa forgeries because the issue directly affects transnational criminal networks.
“Suvarnabhumi airport is an Asean hub for people who want to travel to third countries. So travel documents can be forged in every possible way. We have to take this problem seriously before the AEC is set up. Otherwise, Thailand will become a transit point and a hideout for transnational criminals,” he said.
According to the Immigration Bureau, during January 2014 to May 2015, a total of 142 suspects were charged with travel document-related crimes.
Of the suspects, 55 were arrested for allegedly forging a bio-data page on their passports.
The majority of suspects were Chinese, Syrian and Iranian, respectively.
Several Chinese travellers held Taiwanese passports because it allowed them to enter many European countries without needing a visa.
Syrian and Iranian offenders used passports for European countries such as Greece, Turkey, Poland and Belgium.
Twenty-eight Chinese and Indian suspects were caught after police found fake entry and exit stamps on their passports and visas.
Authorities also apprehended another 26 suspects for using genuine passports belonging to others who looked similar. Police believe this type of crime will only increase in the future.
Malaysian and British passports were being used by Vietnamese and people from South Asia to enter third countries.
Charges of possessing a counterfeit visa were pressed against 13 suspects whose visa stickers were forged.
Some of these suspects had fallen victim to human trafficking rings and told police they had been exploited after seeking work on fishing trawlers.
Seven foreigners were arrested for modifying passport information, such as extending the duration of stay to avoid being fined for overstaying.
Five Syrian and Iranian suspects were charged with changing the photo in their passports.
Two people, whose nationalities could not be confirmed, were also detained for possession of counterfeit Chinese passports.
A Pakistani suspect was arrested for allegedly forging the visa page and concealing immigration bureau stamps.
As for genuine tourists, Pol Gen Wuthi said the centre will prevent crimes against foreign visitors and help make tourists’ travel safer and easier.
“Around 100,000 foreigners visit the country every day. Normally, the immigration police only acknowledges their arrivals and departures, so we have failed to prevent some crimes due to a lack of information.
“Taking action after a crime has been committed is too late. It does not solve the problem at its root cause,” he said.
It is important for authorities to know the rough details of each tourist group, such as the travel company they use and their itineraries.
Pol Gen Wuthi said tourism companies would be required to report their activities to the Tourism and Sports Ministry.
This practice is mentioned in the Tourism and Guide Registration Act, but it has never been implemented before.
“If police know the agenda of each tourism company, it will be easy for them to spot whether a company is taking their clients to improper places where they could be conned into purchasing overpriced products and services,” Pol Gen Wuthi said.
With this approach, the problem of “zero-dollar tours” (cheap tour packages with poor quality) will also diminish, Pol Gen Wuth said.
Police will work with local authorities in each region to help foreign visitors, he added.