VOA英语2010年-Thailand Spain Foil Passport Forgery Ring

Police in Thailand say they have coordinated¹ with Spanish authorities to bust² a passport forgery³ ring that allegedly supplied terrorist groups, including those blamed for deadly attacks in Madrid and Mumbai.

Thai police say they arrested two Pakistani men and one Thai woman this week on forgery charges, as they attempted to flee to neighboring Laos. The three were arrested in cooperation with Spanish authorities, who on Tuesday arrested six Pakistanis and one Nigerian in raids in Barcelona.

Thai police say they are suspected of being part of a transnational crime syndicate that supplied fake passports to criminals and terrorists.

Colonel Narat Sawettana, Deputy Director General of Thailand's Department of Special Investigations⁵, said, "I can tell you that it is pretty much linked. And all the customers who buy these fake passports might be the criminals who get involved in terrorist groups, they might get involved in human trafficking, arms smuggling⁶, you know, or even, you know, just general fraud."

Spanish authorities believe the group supplied fake passports used by Muslim militants⁷ who bombed Madrid commuter⁸ trains in 2004, killing⁹ 191 people. They also suspect the group supplied fake passports to al-Qaida-linked Lashkar-e-Taiba, the Pakistan-based group accused of the 2008 Mumbai attacks that killed 166 people. Other alleged⁴ customers include Sri Lanka's Tamil Tiger rebels, who were defeated last year after 25 years of war.

Narat says the gang mailed stolen passports from Spain to Thailand, where they would be forged with new photos and information from their customers.

Thai police say they raided an apartment in Bangkok where they found equipment and supplies used for altering passports.

Spanish authorities say the arrests in Spain and Thailand were a major achievement as the forgery ring was known for high quality fakes.

1 coordinated   

adj.协调的

参考例句：

• The sound has to be coordinated with the picture. 声音必须和画面协调一致。
• The numerous existing statutes are complicated and poorly coordinated. 目前繁多的法令既十分复杂又缺乏快调。 来自英汉非文学 - 环境法 - 环境法

2 bust   

vt.打破；vi.爆裂；n.半身像；胸部

参考例句：

• I dropped my camera on the pavement and bust it. 我把照相机掉在人行道上摔坏了。
• She has worked up a lump of clay into a bust.她把一块黏土精心制作成一个半身像。

3 forgery   

n.伪造的文件等，赝品，伪造（行为）

参考例句：

• The painting was a forgery.这张画是赝品。
• He was sent to prison for forgery.他因伪造罪而被关进监狱。

4 alleged   

a.被指控的，嫌疑的

参考例句：

• It was alleged that he had taken bribes while in office. 他被指称在任时收受贿赂。
• alleged irregularities in the election campaign 被指称竞选运动中的不正当行为

5 investigations   

（正式的）调查( investigation的名词复数 )； 侦查； 科学研究； 学术研究

参考例句：

• His investigations were intensive and thorough but revealed nothing. 他进行了深入彻底的调查，但没有发现什么。
• He often sent them out to make investigations. 他常常派他们出去作调查。

6 smuggling   

n.走私

参考例句：

• Some claimed that the docker's union fronted for the smuggling ring.某些人声称码头工人工会是走私集团的掩护所。
• The evidence pointed to the existence of an international smuggling network.证据表明很可能有一个国际走私网络存在。

7 militants   

激进分子，好斗分子( militant的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The militants have been sporadically fighting the government for years. 几年来，反叛分子一直对政府实施零星的战斗。
• Despite the onslaught, Palestinian militants managed to fire off rockets. 尽管如此，巴勒斯坦的激进分子仍然发射导弹。

8 commuter   

n.(尤指市郊之间)乘公交车辆上下班者

参考例句：

• Police cordoned off the road and diverted commuter traffic. 警察封锁了道路并分流交通。
• She accidentally stepped on his foot on a crowded commuter train. 她在拥挤的通勤列车上不小心踩到了他的脚。

9 killing   

n.巨额利润；突然赚大钱，发大财

参考例句：

• Investors are set to make a killing from the sell-off.投资者准备清仓以便大赚一笔。
• Last week my brother made a killing on Wall Street.上个周我兄弟在华尔街赚了一大笔。