Two more French nationals have been arrested for allegedly trying to copy tourists’ ATM cards.
Samir Chohra and Joel Mouffok, both 27, were taken into custody Sept. 19 at the corner of Second Road and Soi 5 after being detained by volunteers.
Bruno Roger Motsch, 48, told police he was withdrawing money from a nearby Kasikorn Bank ATM when Mouffok approached him, asking for assistance because his card did not work in the machine. The Frenchman asked to compare his card to Motsch’s to see if there was a problem.
Samir Chohra and Joel Mouffok have been arrested for credit card fraud.
Motsch obliged, but noticed Mouffok was holding an odd-looking card in his hand and quickly demanded his card back, assuming it was a card-skimming machine used to read magnetic strips to create counterfeit cards.
The suspect fled, but Motsch called for help and the suspect was corralled. Police did not find the card skimmer, but, under interrogation, Mouffok reportedly coughed up the name of his alleged accomplice Chohra.
Investigators are holding the two men as they investigate their links to a suspected credit-card fraud ring that has already netted the arrests of four other French nationals of Middle East origin this year.
