Brit and Thai busted selling knockoff watches at huge markup in Pattaya

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Mark Peter Dorey and Wirat Bualem were taken into custody in a Jan. 14 sting operation at the Baywalk shopping arcade.

Pattaya police arrested a British man allegedly selling counterfeit watches online for a 2,300-percent markup.

Mark Peter Dorey, 43, was taken into custody in a Jan. 14 sting operation at the Baywalk shopping arcade after selling a foreign police informant 13 knockoff luxury watches branded Rolex, Cartier and Pateak Phillipe for 123,500 baht.

Police said Dorey confessed he’d bought the fake timepieces for 500 baht each from Wirat Bualem at the arcade and sold them for 12,000 baht each on Instagram. Wirat also was arrested.

Police said the Brit had been selling the fake watches on Instagram since 2018. He’d photograph them in luxury boxes alongside bogus warranty cards. He’d take orders on the social networking app. Payment was made by bank transfer and all the customers were foreigners.

Wirat, his alleged supplier, was caught with 40 pirated watches.