BANGKOK, Thailand – Four foreign con artists tried to hook rich investors with an old-school black dollar trick. Undercover cops smashed the gang after a sting at a luxury car show.
The group targeted high-end events hunting for millionaires. Police posed as loaded investors and hit an exclusive automobile exhibition in the capital.
Scammers promise millions for upfront fee
The suspects approached the undercover officers and spun a yarn about six million US dollars – around 200 million baht – supposedly seized by customs. They demanded 150,000 baht upfront to “release” the cash and dangled 40 percent of the total as bait.
A second meeting showed off the supposed transformation. The crew took blank white paper cut to dollar size, washed it with a solution, and pulled out what looked like real US banknotes in front of the cops.
Iodine and vitamin C fuel the chemical con
Police later revealed the trick. The scammers soaked real dollars in iodine tincture to make them look blank. Vitamin C dissolved in water stripped the iodine and brought back the original color – a simple but effective show sold as a “special chemical”.
The scam fell apart fast. The undercover officers identified themselves and arrested all four on the spot.
Raids net 60,000 blank bills and phony cash
Teams then searched apartments in Lasalle and Hua Mak. They found around 60,000 prepared blank paper sheets, counterfeit US dollar notes, and several chemical substances used in the fraud.
The haul shows how organised the operation was – ready to churn out fake cash for any investor who bit.
One suspect talks, the other clams up
The detained are Liberian nationals Remy, 35, and David, 40, plus two women from Cameroon aged 35 and 21. David admitted he planned to cheat the investors, police said.
Remy refused to confess. He claimed he couldn’t remember committing any crime. Police did not release the women’s statements. The Metropolitan Police Bureau is still investigating possible more accomplices and victims.