A Briton was arrested at Bangkok airport yesterday with 452 fake blank European passports in his luggage, as he prepared to board a plane to return to the UK.
Mahieddine Daikh, an Algerian who became a naturalised Briton two years ago, will probably escape punishment unless there is a formal complaint in the next few days from the government of one of the countries affected, Thai and British authorities told the Guardian yesterday.
| Hokay, Bulldog and JFM, get out your pencils ... |
Mr Daikh was caught at 1am while in transit from the southern Thai island of Koh Samui to Amsterdam, from where he was scheduled to fly to Glasgow. Officials found about 200 forged passports from France, Belgium, Spain and Portugal in his hand luggage and 250 fakes from the same countries in his checked-in bags, according to an immigration chief, General Suwat Thamrongsisakul. "There were 452 altogether," he said. "He told us he bought the passports from a Pakistani man for £3,000 in Koh Samui and that he would be paid £15,000 when he delivered them to his contact in London. Of course he can't remember the name of the Pakistani."
| That would be too much to expect ... |
| Bet he can't remember the name of his contact in London, either... |
A British embassy official who examined the passports was very impressed with their quality, according to Gen Suwat. "He had to look at them very carefully before being certain they were fake," he said. "'Excellent job' is what he told my officers."
| Well yeah, the Pakistani fakes are always the best ... |
Mr Daikh is currently being held in an immigration detention centre but he could be free by the weekend, because there appears to be no terrorism link to the case.
"We will not prosecute him unless one of the embassies [of the countries whose passports were forged] files a formal complaint," Gen Suwat said. "We will probably give them a couple of days to do that.
| Maybe they should set one of those 2nd deputy undersecretaries to working something up, if he can find the time... |
"If they do not, we will revoke his visa and return him [to Britain]." It was unclear last night if any of the countries involved intended to press charges. A Foreign Office spokeswoman admitted Mr Daikh would not be arrested on his return to the UK. "He could not be prosecuted in Britain for this offence," she said. When asked if he would therefore be free, she replied: "That's what is likely to happen."
| Here's another problem to fix, Tony ... |
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