Cop, Russians held in ATM scam
A THAI POLICEMAN and two Russians have been arrested for their alleged role in a big ATM-skimming gang, said to have obtained over Bt1 billion over the past year.
“The [Russian] suspects have been active in the country for about one year, during which the damage is over Bt1 billion,” Immigration Division 4 Office chief Pol Maj-General Chatchai Iamsaeng said yesterday.
Police were now trying to reclaim the money, he said.
Pol Senior Sgt-Major Nontapan Saengsuk, 37, a member of the Tourist Police division, had more than Bt2.8 million cash in his car at the time of his arrest on Sunday night. A search showed there were more than 200 fake credit cards and ATM cards in his vehicle too.
This officer was nabbed in Nakhon Ratchasima’s Muang district shortly after the arrests of Vasilii Ivanov and Sergei Peternev at an ATM in front of the Nakhon Ratchasima Provincial Hall.
Plainclothes police noticed the two Russians acting suspiciously and searched them. The search showed the pair had more than 100 credit cards and ATM cards on them. During the search, a Toyota Wish almost stopped by but suddenly sped away.
The two Russians then told the arresting officers that the vehicle driven by Nontapan was supposed to pick them up.
Police later intercepted the vehicle and arrested Nontapan.
The three suspects confessed that they had been using the fake cards to withdraw cash.
Provincial Police Region 3 chief Lt-General Thirasak Klinpongsa yesterday announced the arrests of the three suspects.
“We had assigned plainclothes officers to keep watch on ATMs after receiving a tip-off that a Russian ATM skimming gang had come to Nakhon Ratchasima,” Thirasak said.
According to the police, whose probe is ongoing, Nontapan in fact nabbed the two Russians before but accepted a bribe and ended up being their accomplice.
“The two Russians said they offered him an amount of money equivalent to 10 per cent of the withdrawal cash if he served as their driver during their operation,” Thirasak alleged.
Nontapan said he did not know how the Russians acquired the ATM and credit cards.
“I drove him around many times before. When other policemen flagged us down on a road, I could easily claim that I was about to drive these tourists back to their hotel,” Nontapan said.
The two Russians told police that most fake cards in their possession targeted foreign victims. They said they acquired the cards from other foreigners.
Police are investigating the case further. They suspect the pair are members of a big ATM skimming gang.
