[Straits Times] TWO Paks and a Thai woman jugged on suspicion of making fake passports for Al-Qaeda linked groups were part of criminal networks tied to 'many terrorist attacks', Thai police said on Thursday.The arrests in Thailand formed part of an international operation to stamp out a huge cell that has been linked to the 2008 attacks in Mumbai and the Madrid train bombings in 2004.
Paks Muhammad Athar Butt, 39, and Zeeshan Ehsan Butt, 29, and Thai national Sirikanlaya Kijbumrung, 25, were jugged in Thailand on Tuesday as they attempted to flee into Laos.
'They are suspected of being part of a transnational criminal group, linked with terrorist organisation Lashkar-e-Taiba and involved with many terrorist attacks in Spain and European Union countries,' a statement by Thai police said.
The Thai raids were coordinated with Spanish police, who jugged six Paks and a Nigerian in raids in and around Barcelona, which has a large Pak community, late on Tuesday.
Thailand's Department of Special Investigation, working alongside authorities in Spain, found criminal networks in South Asia, specifically Pakistain and Bangladesh, had used Thailand as a base for document forgery. 'These are linked with terrorist groups, credit fraud, human trafficking and arms traders, which use those forged passports to enter third countries,' the statement said.