Estonians Maksim Prijatkin
and Aleksandr Melnik are suspected of being part of a larger fraud ring
that may involve Thai nationals.
Theerarak Suthathiwong and Boonlua Chatree
Pattaya police have arrested two Estonians and two Turks for allegedly
using counterfeit ATM cards to steal millions in baht from Thai banks.
Turks Orhan Bel, 33, and Ercan Saruhan, 27; and Estonians Maksim
Prijatkin, 19, and Aleksandr Melnik, 24, were apprehended in separate
incidents Sept. 15.
The Turkish duo was arrested outside a Siam Commercial Bank on Second
Road with six fake cards and 50,000 baht cash. The Estonians were taken
into custody inside their Thappraya Soi 13 condominium with 40 fake
cards, a card-making machine, two notebook computers and credit card
slips.
All were charged with possession and production of fake electronic cards
and theft.
Police said the Turks confessed to entering Thailand Sept. 8 and
stealing millions of baht from Pattaya ATMs, then transferring 70
percent of the funds back to Turkey. They said they procured the cards
from a Turkish friend.
The Estonians, police alleged, had entered Thailand on Aug. 27 and come
directly to Pattaya to loot teller machines of more than 10 million
baht. They were caught when fraud officials at Kasikorn Bank alerted
police to suspect transactions and they were tracked back to the condo,
one of many they had used in the past several weeks, police said.
The Estonians, police said, used their ill-gotten gains to purchase
Apple Inc. electronics products and computers. The victims of the card
fraud were residents of Finland, the United States, South Korea and
other foreign countries.
Police suspect the Estonians are part of a larger fraud ring that may
involve Thai nationals and the investigation is continuing.
Turks Orhan Bel and Ercan
Saruhan have been arrested for ATM fraud.
