Immigration Bureau Commissioner Pol Lt Gen Natthathorn Praohsunthorn said Hamid Reza Jafary, 48, alias “The Doctor” was arrested on Monday at a house in Chachoengsao.
His account led to arrest of five Pakistani men, identified as Cheema Ahsan Javed, Amer Buit, Rahim Khkan Pathan, Goha Zaman, and Muhammad Tariq.
Police seized 173 fake passports from the house where Jafary was arrested.
Natthathorn said police had received tips that Jafary and his men had been making the so-called “AAA” or “Mirror Grade” passports to sell to human trafficking gangs for years. Most of the passports were made to imitate those of European nations. Natthathorn said the fake passports were very similar and could be detected only with scanning machines.