A woman with 2 IDs, one Thai and the other Burmese, was caught while she was offering to sell 5,000 kyat notes at a rate ludicrously lower than the market rate in Homong, opposite Mae Hong Son, according to sources from the border.

“She was offering 500,000 kyat for 7,000 baht ($ 233) in return,” said a member of the Homong People’s Militia Force (PMF). “But the market rate is around 18,500 baht ($ 616). Also, she had already been caught twice before.”

The first time she was caught with 300,000 kyat fake banknotes and the second time with 5 million. “This time, she was arrested by the police,” added a Thai military intelligence source. “She was transferred to district court yesterday.”

The 43 year old suspect is Nang Nu, according to her Thai Highlander’s card, and Nang Pawk, according to her Burmese ID. “She was said to have taken the money from a Sai Hsaw Long in Chiangmai, a former officer in the (now defunct) MTA (Mong Tai Army led by the late Khun Sa),” the Thai source said.

However, Thai authorities were unable to find Sai Hsaw Long at his rented residence in Chiangmai’s Tambon Changpeuk neighborhood.

Counterfeit banknotes have been standing a problem on the Thai-Burma border, with unknown counterfeiters producing American dollars, Chinese yuan, Thai baht and Burmese kyat.

According to an unconfirmed report, one of the counterfeiters is the Homong PMF led by Mahaja, a former MTA commander, who is also on Thailand’s watchlist for drug production and trafficking. He has however denied he had anything to do with manufacturing phoney notes.