The Royal Thai Police (RTP) has issued an order to officers nationwide to keep an eye out for spies from Iran, after one was arrested in Indonesia.
A police source told the Bangkok Post that Security Agencies were closely monitoring the movement of Iranian nationals and some Thai Muslims suspected to be working as spies in Thailand.
The RTP order cited an incident in May last year when Indonesian authorities were tipped off that a man had arrived in the country carrying a Bulgarian passport which was later found to be fake.
The police source said the man was arrested by Indonesian authorities at Soekarno–Hatta International Airport just before departing for Qatar.
“Indonesian police found that he entered the country more than 10 times using false papers, and a court sentenced him to two years in jail for the offences,” the source said.
“Indonesian Police also found that the man had 11 mobile phones, one tablet computer, a number of SIM cards and cash worth more than 320,000 baht ($A13,000).”
They said a check on his mobile phones found the names of some Thai Muslims, leading Indonesian authorities to believe the man was a spy from Iran.
“After further interrogation, the man told police that he had been given several assignments by a former Iranian diplomat in Malaysia to act as a spy both there and in Indonesia several times,” the source said.
“His exposure has caused a stir among several countries which are worrying about Iran’s secret operations and spies, which are perceived to be a national security threat by each country.”
Bangkok, 6 June 2022
