Tourist police have arrested a Singapore man for allegedly selling counterfeit luxury brand watches on his Facebook page.
Pol Maj-General Surachet Hakpal, deputy commissioner of the Tourist Police Bureau, told a press conference that Damiel Jian Tan Wei was arrested at his apartment room in Bangkok’s Chatuchak district on Wednesday.
Police said they seized 22 counterfeit watches bearing brand markings of Rolex, Omega, Patek Phillip, and IWC from his room. Officers also found a 9mm Noringo pistol and 10 rounds of ammunition in the room, Surachet said.
Surachet quoted the Singapore man as admitting that he bought counterfeit watches from China for Bt2,000 each to resell on the Facebook page for about Bt10,000 to Bt20,000 each. Surachet said Damiel claimed the Patek brand was most popular and that he earned profits of some Bt70,000 to Bt80,000 a month.
Surachet said Damiel entered Thailand in 2014 and his visa had expired.
Damiel was charged with breaching copyrights, overstaying his visa and possessing firearms without a licence.