Beetofaneediot

I need to find my old passport, as when I went through immigration on the way out, there was a large stamp, that pretty much filled a whole page. There was a number that looked like a Thai year which I just assumed was 100 years from when I was booted. Also, any idea what happens if you try to enter LOS at a land border, but you get knocked back? Do you just get turned around and go back to the country you were trying to enter from? Obviously if you try to enter through an airport and you're told you're not welcome, you're likely to be locked up until you can make arrangement to go back home. However, isn't it an offence to try and come back to Thailand if you are on a ban? I seem to remember reading about some people who were caught out in some sort of Immigration sweep, though I can't remember the specifics. I do remember that some, if not all had been banned quite recently, so it would make sense if they were caught out by fingerprint records?

Apologies for putting this in the weed section of the forum. Posts like this, that are related to drugs, usually aren't welcome in the main section of expat forums. I was found guilty of use/possess weed and heroin. From memory I was fined around 10,000 baht, but as I'd been on remand, I had earnt just over 7000 in credit and I only had to pay the balance. No need to move it to the other section of the forum, happy to have it disappear if you like.

I realize this may be a controversial post, but there isn't much I can do about that. Must say it is a nice touch having a weed forum, for reasons you will soon see. Back in my youth, I was a bit of a <deleted>. Now if I'd stayed in my own country, I could have outgrown this condition, without a heap of extra hassle. In my mid 20s, I was at the tail end of a decently long run of addiction. My tipple, was ye olde diacetylmorphine, otherwise known as heroin. Anyway, to cut a horribly long story short, I was busted with a decent amount ganja and a tiny amount of heroin. I didn't have enough heroin, to actually use, it was basically a few wee bags with traces, a used spoon and a handful of used syringes. I probably should have been an <deleted> and just dumped them somewhere, but I tended to keep them and then drop them in a hazards bin at the hospital nearby. Anyways, I was caught, keptinside on remand for a couple of months, then found guilty and fined a bunch. As I'd been inside, rather than on bail, my fine was being paid off so much every day and it ended up covering the majority of the fine. Once the case was over, I was delivered to the IDC and after a couple of weeks, I was deported, then flown home. Since this happened, I have been back to the LOS a bunch of times. It only involved changing my name and getting a new passport. I haven't been back in a few years and since the new biometrics and fingerprint gear at airports and land borders(?) It has me wondering what sort of chance, there would be, that the sirens and red lights would go off, as my picture or fingerprints would trigger something in the computer used? I was pinched in the late 90s and the last time I was back, was 5 or 6 years ago. I realize there will be people, who aren't happy with my post and fair dues to them. There really isn't anything I can say in my defense, though the aforementioned episode, did contribute to my eventual sobriety in a big way. While I probably shouldn't be a massive fan of the draconian way Thailand treats, or perhaps treated folks with drug problems, it really was wonderful coming back, knowing that I really would have to go out of my way, to find a way to relapse. While I have had a couple of hiccups on my travels since then, I've been able to stay clean, off the really horrible stuff at least, all the times I've been to Thailand since then. Like allot of people, I was shocked when I learned that weed was being decriminalized. I do enjoy the odd dodgy cigar, so it would be a blast to be able to have a wee schmoke over your way, without worrying about getting locked up and deported again. Oh yeah, the reason for my post. Does anyone know, or have an idea how far back fingerprint records go, in the immigration system? My fingerprints were only ever taken in the old fashioned way, but it has me wondering if they could, or would have been digitized since then? The first couple of times, I went back, was overland from Malaysia, though since then I have flown in and out of Thailand without any problems (first time almost gave me a stroke though, as I was about as nervous as I think I've ever been.) So, to sum up, is there anyone, with any actual knowledge, of how far back there are digitized, fingerprint and/or biometric records, that have been converted from ye olde paper records? I am considering having a crack at trying an overland crossing, but I'd be allot happier about the prospect, if being knocked back, meant simply turning around and going back to Malaysia, Cambodia, Myanmar or Laos? I have read the odd story about folks in my situation, being nabbed by the fingerprint biometric machines, but I don't think I've ever read any details about how much time had gone by between being pinched and deported and then coming back? Also, when all of this stuff was happening, I kept on hearing about 100 year stamps. Is there actually a 100 year ban for cases like mine? I wish I'd kept hold of the passport with the stamp in it but it managed to do a disappearing act on me. I had it kept somewhere I thought was safe, but when we were last moving house, it up and disappeared on me. I'd have been happy to scan the stamp and share it on here otherwise. Apologies to anyone who is offended by my post, or myself, so by all means fire away kids. It really would be great if I could get some decent opinions on the reason for my post. Cheers, and I hope the new year is treating you well.