Ali Faycal Kasmi, Nabil Beldgilali, and Fares
Khayyour have been arrested for ATM fraud.
Boonlua Chatree
Transnational crime investigators arrested three French
men on charges of using counterfeit bank cards to loot ATMs in Pattaya.
Ali Faycal Kasmi, 33; Nabil Beldgilali, 21; and Fares
Khayyour, 22, were taken into custody June 10 at a South Pattaya hotel room
they shared. Inside, a task force of Pattaya, Chonburi and Transnational
Crime Division police found two fake bank cards and the t-shirts the men
were wearing when captured on ATM camera video.
Police were unclear on how the Frenchmen had come under
police surveillance, but investigators said they’d watched the trio’s
movements around Pattaya, including their frequent runs to ATM machines and
the Middle Eastern-dominated Mixx disco at Bali Hai Pier. Police accuse the
men of stealing hundreds of thousands of baht with the fake cards.
All three suspects denied the charges.
The arrest marks the third time since February police have arrested
groups of French nationals of Middle Eastern origin allegedly using fake ATM
cards or equipment to steal bank card numbers off unsuspecting tourists.
