Sri Lanka tourist arrested while attempting to board London flight with fake Canadian passport
A Sri Lankan tourist was arrested while trying to board a flight to London using a fake Canadian passport.
The passenger, identified only as K, around 20 years old, was flagged by officers when he presented the 'suspicious' travel document at the Suvarnabhumi International Airport near Bangkok, Thailand, on May 31.
He was due to board Thai Airways flight TG916 to Heathrow Airport in London, but further checks found he was a Sri Lankan national who normally used a Sri Lankan passport to enter and exit Thailand.
He had also presented travel documentation for a separate itinerary from Bangkok to Mumbai, India, with a connecting flight to Colombo, Sri Lanka.
Officials later confirmed his Canadian passport was fake.
K was detained on charges of forging a passport and related immigration and criminal offences.
Police Major General Kathathorn Khamthiang, commander of Immigration Division 2, said the arrest was made as authorities were tightening immigration checks to crack down on transnational crimes.
He said: 'This arrest is not only about prosecuting those caught using fake passports. We are expanding the investigation to identify everyone involved, including document suppliers, travel coordinators, smugglers, masterminds and anyone providing support to these operations.
'Thai airports must never become transit hubs for transnational criminals. Immigration officers will continue to carry out rigorous inspections, in-depth investigations and use advanced technology to disrupt these networks.'
Following K's arrest, police found that the identity on the counterfeit Canadian passport had actually entered Thailand and was still in the country.
The man, identified as A, was added to an immigration watchlist. He was arrested later that afternoon while trying to depart from the Don Mueang International Airport in Bangkok.
Officers said he was trying to board AirAsia flight AK887 to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
They searched his phone and allegedly discovered scripts outlining how to answer immigration officers' questions, along with messages linked to K.
A's visa was revoked and both suspects were detained for further investigations.
Police Colonel Pongthorn Pongratchatanan, deputy commander of Immigration Division 2, said the case shows how transnational crime networks coordinate to slip past immigration checks.
Immigration Division 2 said a probe was launched to trace the suspects' travel routes and identify the source of the forged passports.
