Caught with cannabis in the islands

[anon789561]

Just now, Just Weird said:

You do not need to assure me that there is not a lot that the Embassy can do, I didn't say that there was but the Consular rep can give advice as to the best thing to do and that is probably better than 95% of the alarmist 'advice' posters here have provided to the lady.

ok. sorry. i didn't read the whole thread. am i forgiven? 555

[simoh1490]

5 hours ago, poohy said:

As said police request for 49K Bail is , really pay us the money and off you go!

 

The Thai police force is not a recognized police force as in the western world more  like a criminal mafia, in reality they probably sold the stuff to you son

So pay up  get passport back as exchange for cash nothing in writing  and GO!

 

5 hours ago, phuketrichard said:

PAY  as fast as u can, the longer u leave it, the more people involved that need to make a % of the fine.

 

BAIL to the police means  "pay us and leave"

DONT involve a lawyer!!  Price will go up

It seems that times have changed as indeed I suspected they might have, there's now an added step in the process in many places and that involves going to court, just as it should be.

[phuketrichard]

1 hour ago, ubonjoe said:

Arrangements can be made to get the extension done. Possibly a police escort to immigration to get it.

One of my ex partners was in jail in Phuket in 2015, while there, his visa expired, his passport expired.he was not allowed out to do anything.

After his final court; was made to pay his fine, pay for his and an officers plane ticket to Bangkok,  ( taxi to Oz embassy to  pickup emergency travel doc ), Pay for his flight back to Oz.

Have had more than few acquaintances not allowed out of jail to do  extensions and all were deported after their court cases.

Quote

He won't be allowed access to cash if he's locked up.

everyone in jail here in thailand has a prison account.in Phuket you just visit the jail and say u wish to have xxx baht placed in the prisoners holding account which he can use for whatever inside

Edited February 24, 2018 by phuketrichard

[ubonjoe]

2 minutes ago, phuketrichard said:

One of my ex partners was in jail in Phuket in 2015, while there, his visa expired, his passport expired.he was not allowed out to do anything.

He out on bail not in jail.

[phuketrichard]

5 minutes ago, ubonjoe said:

He out on bail not in jail.

ok cool; but he does not have his passport>> correct?  how will he get an extension?

An officer  will meet him at immigration and allow him to apply for an extension?  So ur saying an extension is granted if ur out on bail nowadays??

I am curious> was he released in Koh Tao or was he transferred to Samui?Does he need stay in Koh Tao?

 

Edited February 24, 2018 by phuketrichard

[Whitestarschool]

5 hours ago, phuketrichard said:

PAY  as fast as u can, the longer u leave it, the more people involved that need to make a % of the fine.

 

BAIL to the police means  "pay us and leave"

DONT involve a lawyer!!  Price will go up

Too true: police supplement their low wages with deals like this...and lawyers, only negligibly less corrupt than the coppers, will only see this as a feeding opportunity; don't expect them to help your son in any way.

I once got in a setup for something that was slightly illegal and was told it could be solved in "other ways." When I inquired how much such a solution would cost, negotiations began.

In the end, we met at 20,000. When I told them I needed to go to an ATM to get the money, they were ever so solicitous and gave me a ride to two separate ATMs to get the money.

 

[ubonjoe]

9 minutes ago, phuketrichard said:

ok cool; but he does not have his passport>> correct?  how will he get an extension?

An officer  will meet him at immigration and allow him to apply for an extension?  So ur saying an extension is granted if ur out on bail nowadays??

Not sure about the exact procedure for doing it. The police could deliver his passport to immigration and keep it after the extension is granted.

There is nothing that prevents him from applying for an extension.

There is even an extension of stay that can be obtained  for being involved in litigation at a court. It can be issued for up to 90 days at a time.

[mentalcolonization]

Its a crime that he has to pay for. seeing all the advice, i realize many people don't follow the law in Thailand 

[anon789561]

23 minutes ago, Whitestarschool said:

Too true: police supplement their low wages with deals like this...and lawyers, only negligibly less corrupt than the coppers, will only see this as a feeding opportunity; don't expect them to help your son in any way.

I once got in a setup for something that was slightly illegal and was told it could be solved in "other ways." When I inquired how much such a solution would cost, negotiations began.

In the end, we met at 20,000. When I told them I needed to go to an ATM to get the money, they were ever so solicitous and gave me a ride to two separate ATMs to get the money.

 

he's out on bail and the embassy will tell him what to do about his visa no doubt. i got caughtabout 20 years ago at a club called la lunar i think. basically first night there. you could go to narccisus which had police out the front to protect it and you could do what you inside. anyway. i got caught by undercover police in the toilets just as i was about to take a pill. talk about a buzz killer. anyway ended up in tonglor police station and they wanted a load of cash which i didn't have as i was just a kid. they let me speak to my mum who basically said, you got yourself into it, get yourself out of it. i tried to explain how shit it was in the cells but she just said you got yourself into it. so. no money for bail or pay off the police. my wife now who then my girlfriend tried to bribe but they weren't having it. the police were on a mission against la lunar. so nearly week later they take me to court and paid the fine which wasn't much then they let me out. no blacklist,, just a letter to get through immo for a few years. he's alright, his bailed. my mum doesn't spoil me. i've never touched drugs ever since. those police cells were hell and i was lucky because i was getting food and smokes brought to me daily. anyway, the moral of the story is, don't do drugs in thailand  

Edited February 24, 2018 by Happy enough

[007 RED]

1 hour ago, Mum2 said:

No passport - court in about a month, looking at the foreign office website that appears to be the standard form. For what they consider ‘small’ crimes the police can and do set bail and the amount he paid is not outrageous for a foreigner it would appear.  

Mum2….  Sorry to hear about your dilemma.  Certainly not an envious situation to be faced with.  I know a lot of information has been provided already.  Some of it good, some of it not so good.

 

The first thing I would say that it’s good to hear that your son has been released on ‘bail’ and I would concur with previous comments indicating that your son will have to stay in Thailand until the Court hearing which may be a month away.

 

I appreciate that this whole episode has been a great shock to you and I hope that you have someone back there to give you additional support that you no doubt need until your son returns.

 

Please don’t get upset, but I think that this has not finished yet.  There may well be a few more unwelcome surprises in store for your son.

 

Firstly, you mentioned that your son was due to return in four days.  Obviously that is not going to happen now as he is prevented from leaving the Kingdom because he does not have his passport.

 

He needs to contact the airline as soon as possible and explain his predicament to them.  He needs to cancel his return flight and hope that they will allow him to rebook the flight home once the Court case has been completed.  The problem is that the airline may say that if he does not show up at the airport he has effectively cancelled his ticket and will not be entitled to any refund.  In fact, the airline under those circumstances (what is called NO SHOW) can charge a penalty, though most would not.

 

If the return segment of ticket is cancelled and not re-bookable your son will be responsible for booking a new flight once the Court case is complete and he has his passport back. Unfortunately a single flight from Bangkok to the UK can work out as expensive as a return fare.  Even if your son has travel insurance, the insurance company will not cover providing a replacement flight for him given the circumstances.  So something to bear in mind and possibly prepare for e.g. arrange for additional funding to be available.

 

Secondly, from what I gather from your earlier posts, your son (or his friend) has paid the bail sum demanded by the police.  I hope that either your son, his friend or an independent person (e.g. Embassy rep) read the bail receipt before he signed it.  If not, then unfortunately there may be another unwelcome surprise on the horizon once the Court case is complete.

 

Your son would have been in a very vulnerable position after his arrest and this will be made worse by the fact that he may not speak or understand Thai.

 

It is a fairly common scam that a person in your son’s predicament is persuaded to hand over the ‘bail’ sum to a third party (a fixer) who then arranges the ‘bail’.  The fixer returns with the bail document which is in Thai, explains the terms of the bail to your son and then gets him to sign the document.  He is then told that he is free to leave the police station, minus his passport which will be held by the police until the Court case is completed. 

 

What will not be apparent unless your son, his friend or someone else read Thai is that the ‘bail’ document will record who posted the ‘bail’ and there is a very good chance that it the fixer, not your son or his friend.

 

When the Court case is complete and your son returns to the police station to collect the bail money, it is likely that the police will inform him that as he didn’t post the bail he is not entitled to the money and there is a very good chance that the money will have already been collected by the fixer. 

 

So please advise your son that this may happen and not to get upset with the police as this could only lead to further complications.  Unfortunately there is little if anything that he can do if this is the case as he has signed the bail document which would have stated (in Thai) that the bail bond was posted by the fixer.

 

I hope that things turn out better than I have painted and that you son gets back sooner rather than later.

 

Good luck, and get the frying pan ready for his return, just don't make to many bruises.

[alex8912]

12 minutes ago, Happy enough said:

he's out on bail and the embassy will tell him what to do about his visa no doubt. i got caughtabout 20 years ago at a club called la lunar i think. basically first night there. you could go to narccisus which had police out the front to protect it and you could do what you inside. anyway. i got caught by undercover police in the toilets just as i was about to take a pill. talk about a buzz killer. anyway ended up in tonglor police station and they wanted a load of cash which i didn't have as i was just a kid. they let me speak to my mum who basically said, you got yourself into it, get yourself out of it. i tried to explain how shit it was in the cells but she just said you got yourself into it. so. no money for bail or pay off the police. my wife now who then my girlfriend tried to bribe but they weren't having it. the police were on a mission against la lunar. so nearly week later they take me to court and paid the fine which wasn't much then they let me out. no blacklist,, just a letter to get through immo for a few years. he's alright, his bailed. my mum doesn't spoil me. i've never touched drugs ever since. those police cells were hell and i was lucky because i was getting food and smokes brought to me daily. anyway, the moral of the story is, don't do drugs in thailand  

"I got caught about 20 years ago" 

I don't know about other readers of the forum but I hate it when people come on threads and give advise ( usually not up to date) as if something that happened to them in the last couple months or maybe last year actually happened " about 20 years ago"  Realky irks me and it happens a lot. 

[BobBKK]

18 minutes ago, mentalcolonization said:

Its a crime that he has to pay for. seeing all the advice, i realize many people don't follow the law in Thailand 

 

You mean it's against the archaic law here? yes you are right but it's an absurdity that any government should tell it's citizens what to smoke.

[anon789561]

2 minutes ago, alex8912 said:

"I got caught about 20 years ago" 

I don't know about other readers of the forum but I hate it when people come on threads and give advise ( usually not up to date) as if something that happened to them in the last couple months or maybe last year actually happened " about 20 years ago"  Realky irks me and it happens a lot. 

don't get "irked" mate. it's only a forum and anyway, the moral of the story is, don't do drugs in thailand. so i think i made my point

**whether it's 20 years ago or today, the same applies. get it?? or are you getting "irked" whatever that means 555

Edited February 24, 2018 by Happy enough

[Mum2]

15 minutes ago, 007 RED said:

Mum2….  Sorry to hear about your dilemma.  Certainly not an envious situation to be faced with.  I know a lot of information has been provided already.  Some of it good, some of it not so good.

 

The first thing I would say that it’s good to hear that your son has been released on ‘bail’ and I would concur with previous comments indicating that your son will have to stay in Thailand until the Court hearing which may be a month away.

 

I appreciate that this whole episode has been a great shock to you and I hope that you have someone back there to give you additional support that you no doubt need until your son returns.

 

Please don’t get upset, but I think that this has not finished yet.  There may well be a few more unwelcome surprises in store for your son.

 

Firstly, you mentioned that your son was due to return in four days.  Obviously that is not going to happen now as he is prevented from leaving the Kingdom because he does not have his passport.

 

He needs to contact the airline as soon as possible and explain his predicament to them.  He needs to cancel his return flight and hope that they will allow him to rebook the flight home once the Court case has been completed.  The problem is that the airline may say that if he does not show up at the airport he has effectively cancelled his ticket and will not be entitled to any refund.  In fact, the airline under those circumstances (what is called NO SHOW) can charge a penalty, though most would not.

 

If the return segment of ticket is cancelled and not re-bookable your son will be responsible for booking a new flight once the Court case is complete and he has his passport back. Unfortunately a single flight from Bangkok to the UK can work out as expensive as a return fare.  Even if your son has travel insurance, the insurance company will not cover providing a replacement flight for him given the circumstances.  So something to bear in mind and possibly prepare for e.g. arrange for additional funding to be available.

 

Secondly, from what I gather from your earlier posts, your son (or his friend) has paid the bail sum demanded by the police.  I hope that either your son, his friend or an independent person (e.g. Embassy rep) read the bail receipt before he signed it.  If not, then unfortunately there may be another unwelcome surprise on the horizon once the Court case is complete.

 

Your son would have been in a very vulnerable position after his arrest and this will be made worse by the fact that he may not speak or understand Thai.

 

It is a fairly common scam that a person in your son’s predicament is persuaded to hand over the ‘bail’ sum to a third party (a fixer) who then arranges the ‘bail’.  The fixer returns with the bail document which is in Thai, explains the terms of the bail to your son and then gets him to sign the document.  He is then told that he is free to leave the police station, minus his passport which will be held by the police until the Court case is completed. 

 

What will not be apparent unless your son, his friend or someone else read Thai is that the ‘bail’ document will record who posted the ‘bail’ and there is a very good chance that it the fixer, not your son or his friend.

 

When the Court case is complete and your son returns to the police station to collect the bail money, it is likely that the police will inform him that as he didn’t post the bail he is not entitled to the money and there is a very good chance that the money will have already been collected by the fixer. 

 

So please advise your son that this may happen and not to get upset with the police as this could only lead to further complications.  Unfortunately there is little if anything that he can do if this is the case as he has signed the bail document which would have stated (in Thai) that the bail bond was posted by the fixer.

 

I hope that things turn out better than I have painted and that you son gets back sooner rather than later.

 

Good luck, and get the frying pan ready for his return, just don't make to many bruises.

Thank you - I am hopeful it is sorted in a month he is concerned it may be nearer 2. The interpreter who is apparently a volunteer read him the paperwork (I guess this maybe the fixer - is it worth a conversation with him? He is the one my son has to contact every 12 days to say where he is). I am concerned he needs his passport to get a criminal extension visa from another island and he doesn’t have it. ) what a mess? 

[alex8912]

8 minutes ago, Happy enough said:

don't get "irked" mate. it's only a forum and anyway, the moral of the story is, don't do drugs in thailand. so i think i made my point

Your advise was directed to a mum far away and scared for her kid and just because your mommy treated you differently "about 20 years ago" you kept giving wrong info BASED ON NOT READING a couple pages of the thread before your posts. Yes this is just a forum but SOME threads are different and if you can not see this then  I feel sorry for you. 

Edited February 24, 2018 by alex8912

[anon789561]

Just now, alex8912 said:

Your advise was directed to a mum far away and scared for her kid and just because your mommy treated you differently "about 20 years ago" you kept giving wrong info BASED ON NOT READING a couple pages of the thread before you posts. Yes this is just a forum but SOME threads are different and if you can not see this then  I feel sorry for you. 

the kids fine. he's out on bail. stop being a drama queen

[anon789561]

i mean it alex. the kid will be fine. there are a few costs to cover but he's out on bail and he'll get advice how to get home asap from the embassy

[buick]

21 minutes ago, Mum2 said:

Thank you

'007 RED' is the member i mentioned earlier on in the topic as someone who could help (although i think i used 'red007').  i've seen the advice given from him/her on several occasions and it is well worth listening to.  you can send private messages on this site if you'd prefer to communicate in a less public manner.  i hope i'm not suggesting something that 007 RED doesn't want, my apologies if that is the case.  also, if the bail money is 'gone', i would worry too much.  it is best to be out of the jail as soon as possible.  a lesson has been learned and there is no reason to spend another few days behind bars, etc..  it is not alot of money.  many people pay the money and don't get it back and really don't care.  they are thrilled to have at least a portion of the problem behind them.

 

best of luck over the next few weeks. 

[Mum2]

Thank you ?

[anon789561]

Just now, Mum2 said:

Thank you ?

He'll be OK. Don't worry too much. Kids eh

[siamsaint]

I know a foreign guy who got caught with a fair amount of cannabis in Bangkok and he went through court and was let off with a fine. If you don't follow what the police say and do everything by the book there is a chance he may end up in the cells while every official procedure is followed. He probably wont have to pay much at all if he goes by the book but he will spend time in the cells and it will be a potentially long and scary experience. The foreign police volunteers are helpful in situations (small crimes)  like this if they are in your son's area. He wont go to prison if it's a small amount.

[beautifulthailand99]

2 hours ago, buick said:

'007 RED' is the member i mentioned earlier on in the topic as someone who could help (although i think i used 'red007').  i've seen the advice given from him/her on several occasions and it is well worth listening to.  you can send private messages on this site if you'd prefer to communicate in a less public manner.  i hope i'm not suggesting something that 007 RED doesn't want, my apologies if that is the case.  also, if the bail money is 'gone', i would worry too much.  it is best to be out of the jail as soon as possible.  a lesson has been learned and there is no reason to spend another few days behind bars, etc..  it is not alot of money.  many people pay the money and don't get it back and really don't care.  they are thrilled to have at least a portion of the problem behind them.

 

best of luck over the next few weeks. 

Just think of it as you are paying a private tax to support an impoverished developing countries police force. You son has learnt a valuable lesson (hopefully) and he certainly isn't going to rot for long in a Thai jail. Who knows this may be the seminal moment when he grows up and sets the foundation for a good life. 

[BigC]

People forget that spliff is still illegal here. He shall have to pay he bail go to court and probably if lucky get a small fine and bail

money back 

[IAMHERE]

8 hours ago, Mum2 said:

They are saying the 49000 is for bail - from what this forum says bail can only be set by the courts? They know his friend has the 49k but had already put him in a cell before they got it from the bank - it took a while to sort. I guess he just needs to wait until a police officer returns and he can try and pay? Are they likely to give his passport back at this point does anyone know? And should he ask for the embassy to be contacted??  

If he doesn't get his passport back then DO NOT PAY.

[BritTim]

4 minutes ago, IAMHERE said:

If he doesn't get his passport back then DO NOT PAY.

It is too late for that advice (read the thread). Anyway, In Koh Tao, you do not try to play hardball with the police/mafia. Unfortunately, it seems it took too long to resolve this without the senior officer getting involved and laying charges. Any resolution now will be through the courts, or an expensive negotiated agreement using the interpreter as a go between.

[IAMHERE]

Just now, BritTim said:

It is too late for that advice (read the thread). Anyway, In Koh Tao, you do not try to play hardball with the police/mafia. Unfortunately, it seems it took too long to resolve this without the senior officer getting involved and laying charges. Any resolution now will be through the courts, or an expensive negotiated agreement using the interpreter as a go between.

I will read the thread, however I will not read the thread and then go back and answer posts. I answere or reply to posts as I come to them thank you. 

[UKJASE]

i was busted for a small amount of weed in koh pang yan 20 years back.  was 50,000 bail and they kept my passport.  went to court in surat thani after 3 weeks on bail.  got 25,000 baht back, and a lawyer guy who just happened to pop up on court day, kept 25,000 (to which i agreed) and oiled all the wheels with it, so that i was not deported - which is meant to be bad as you are transported up to immigration centre in bangkok and held until a flight is booked (can be a few days in captivity with all the others being deported apparently)

 

actual court fine was about 2,000 which the lawyer paid for me from the 25 k

 

good luck mum2 and son (i never told my mum) :)

 

[anon789561]

i just seen it was koh tao. i don't mean to make a joke of it, however i will. you're on my home turf now whatever any poster says here. he'll be alright. there's certain people running that place and theres only a few places you can smoke. he chose a wrong one. he'll be home soon. you should have let him suffer in the cells.

[ubonr1971]

12 hours ago, darksidedog said:

Stupid, Yes, but there is a fair chance someone working for the cops sold it to him and set him up. Plenty of time to bawl him out when he gets home. Bail will be 10,000 at the court. Cops are trying to fleece him and they will keep the 49,000 if you give it to them and probably come sniffing for more. The fine at court is 2,500 for possession. However that will be for a guilty plea after 48 days, that being the time for the prosecutor to bring it to court.

If he has to leave in four days, then sadly it will cost a lot more than the statutory amounts.

Do NOT wave too much cash in the early stages. He should plead poverty and try to bring the amount down.

and if he pays any bail money he needs to get a receipt. I read about this a few yrs go. 

[CanuckThai]

I feel like I've been given a fast and furious "Thai jail immersion" course.  A pretty good thread, with some of the the in's and out's, do's and don'ts if the situation ever came up (more for my young fella's than myself).  Much appreciated, for all the info and experiences shared.