Embassy Bangkok was notified yesterday by the Royal Thai Police that they had arrested two Thai males, one of whom was in possession of a DSS Special Agent badge. They requested our assistance in investigating the situation.
P. Aor and I went to the police station yesterday and met with Capt. Saithong, the investigating officer. He said the pair had been arrested on Friday, May 20th, and that one of the men was wearing the badge on a chain around his neck at the time of arrest. They also had documents associating them with the United Nations, to include business cards identifying them as “science experts” for the UN “Asia-Pacific Military Division.” They were driving a black van with UN stickers and blue license plates similar in appearance to Thai-issued diplomatic plates (the plates appear to be forgeries).
I examined the badge; photos are attached to this email. In photos with two badges, the badge on the right is my issued DS badge, and the one on the left was the one that was seized. The single-badge photos show only the seized one.
The seized badge is larger than a legitimate badge, has a pin (rather than a clip) on the back, has a slightly different color, is curved rather than flat, and does not have a manufacturer marking or a serial number. It appears very similar to the “Special Agent D.S.S Fast Furious Luke Hobbes Badge” available from various vendors on eBay and similar sites. (http://www.ebay.com/itm/like/171888988048?lpid=82&chn=ps&ul_noapp=true)
There were no other US-related documents or items seized in conjunction with this case; all other items were UN-related. The officer said he sent a letter to the UN requesting their assistance.
RTP stated the suspects claimed they possessed these items because they are making a movie about UN activities in Thailand, but they did not produce any evidence to support this activity. The RTP case is ongoing, and the investigating officer said he intends to pursue prosecution under Thai fraud laws. He asked if he could send a formal inquiry to the Embassy requesting analysis of the seized badge, and we provided him the RSO address.
Please let me know if you need any further info.