Briton,Thai nabbed for selling fake watches
A British national, Mark Peter Dorey and a Thai, Wirat Buaraem, were arrested on Tuesday (January 14) for allegedly selling 52 counterfeit watches of luxury brands such as Rolex, Patek Phillipe and Cartier, said Pol Col Dulyapat Techapornchayasin, commander of Provincial Police Region 2 (Chonburi).
Dulyapat said that Chonburi Police received a tip from a foreign informant that the suspects were selling fake watches via an Instagram account, targeting mainly foreign customers. Police then set up a sting operation at a coffee shop in Avenue Pattaya Shopping Mall on South Pattayn Road in Banglamung district of Chonburi, where Dorey showed up with 12 watches which he claimed were valued at Bt125,500.
The suspect told undercover police to follow him to the nearby Bay Walk Shopping Mall to get the rest of the merchandise from his partner, Wirat.
The two were arrested and 40 other fake watches were sieged as evidences at the mall.
Wirat reportedly told police that they bought the fake watches from a manufacturer at Bt500 apiece with the intention of reselling them at around Bt12,000 each.
Both suspects were charged with possession and sales of counterfeit products. Dorey was also charged with working without a work permit.