Australian man, Thai wife sentenced to death in Thailand for drug smuggling

[webfact]

Aust man, Thai wife get death for drugs

 

Kanyarat Wechapitak and Luke Cook have been handed the death penalty for drug smuggling in Thailand.

 

A Perth member of the notorious bikie group Hells Angels and his wife have been sentenced to death in Thailand for trying to smuggle half a tonne of crystal methamphetamine into Australia.

 

Luke Cook, 34, and his Thai wife Kanyarat Wechapitak, 40, were arrested at Bangkok's Suvarnabhumi airport last December and charged in relation to a 2015 plot to smuggle an estimated $300 million of crystal meth - or ice - into Thailand and then on to Australia.

 

A Thai court has sentenced the couple to death, but that is expected to be commuted to life in prison, media reports on Wednesday said.

 

Full story: https://www.9news.com.au/2018/11/14/04/39/aust-man-thai-wife-get-death-for-drugs

 

-- 9NEWS 2018-11-14

[Orac]

Is this the ex owner of The Piss Stop  in Pattaya?

Edited November 13, 2018 by Orac

[happy chappie]

I sometimes wake up with a hangover and think I'm having a bad day.i hope he likes rice.

[ezzra]

40 minutes ago, webfact said:

Luke Cook

I guess his goose is COOKED alright.. for me, anyone who deals for drugs for profits, he has no place among normal, everyday people....

[Somtamnication]

Note to self: do not ever bring drugs into Thailand.

[Fex Bluse]

4 minutes ago, ezzra said:

I guess his goose is COOKED alright.. for me, anyone who deals for drugs for profits, he has no place among normal, everyday people....

I suppose I agree, but to be consistent we would need to feel the same about the pharma companies. 

 

For example, where Marijuana was illegal, now that it's a commercial opportunity, wrapped up in corporate speak, everyone is OK with it. 

[Redacce]

Good riddance.

[z42]

4 minutes ago, ezzra said:

I guess his goose is COOKED alright.. for me, anyone who deals for drugs for profits, he has no place among normal, everyday people....

Which type of drugs Ezzra, only the ones you don't like I expect? So bar owners and restauranteurs the world over who dish up alcohol (arguably the most harmful drug of all) to their paying, willing customers have no place among normal everyday people then by your weird logic.

 

Obviously, the drug laws and sentencing guidelines in Asia for controlled drugs are insane, but who do you really think controls it all? Or allows a trade worth billions of dollars to flourish exactly?

 

From your comment it is evident that you know little about how the global drug trade operates, and are unable to distinguish different types of drugs based on their end use, and harm potential on the user and society at large. In short, get a clue mate.

 

About the OP, the 2 people sentenced to death knew the risks, and were stupid to get involved imho

[Rc2702]

Well it's enough to make even bike gang members think twice.

[Dave67]

I must say you have to admire their balls half a tonne of meth

[MalandLee]

I have to say, thanks Thailand for thwarting the drug shipment, it would have devastated our young people in Australia.

[metisdead]

Some trolling posts have been removed. 

[Thaiwrath]

1 hour ago, webfact said:

have been sentenced to death in Thailand

I know some posters will waffle on about being against the death sentence, but this <deleted> almost certainly knew the possible consequences, if caught, so zero sympathy from here.

Unfortunately, as stated, it won't be enforced, so why did the judge give it in the first place ? 

[sanemax]

6 minutes ago, Thaiwrath said:

I know some posters will waffle on about being against the death sentence, but this <deleted> almost certainly knew the possible consequences, if caught, so zero sympathy from here.

Unfortunately, as stated, it won't be enforced, so why did the judge give it in the first place ? 

The Judge was just following sentencing guidelines and the judiciary system allows for appeals against the death sentence  

[Aussie999]

Will they be given the same chance as other Thais, who are sentenced to long term, or death, then granted bail, eg, a few years back, 2 cops up north, found guilty of murder, sentenced to death, let out on bail, never heard of since.

[Tweedle dee]

Now we get the world trying to save the poor darlings .... take em out and pop !

[Spidey]

1 hour ago, Orac said:

Is this the ex owner of The Piss Stop  in Pattaya?

The same.

[Oziex1]

What concerns me when death sentences are passed in Thailand or Indonesia where they actually carry them out,  is the possibility even the likelyhood that those involved from the arresting officers up to the Judges who pass the sentence will profit from the contraband confiscated. The stuff is just too valuable to completely destroy, it would be like burning money itself.

[Tweedle dee]

7 minutes ago, Oziex1 said:

What concerns me when death sentences are passed in Thailand or Indonesia where they actually carry them out,  is the possibility even the likelyhood that those involved from the arresting officers up to the Judges who pass the sentence will profit from the contraband confiscated. The stuff is just too valuable to completely destroy, it would be like burning money itself.

Shhhhhhhh !

[PremiumLane]

1 hour ago, ezzra said:

I guess his goose is COOKED alright.. for me, anyone who deals for drugs for profits, he has no place among normal, everyday people....

So bar owners then?

[Old Croc]

"Cook, owner of the Piss Stop bar in Pattaya, was convicted in 2016 of helping Australian kick-boxer and former Sydney businessman Antonio Bagnato flee Thailand after he murdered Schneider, a prominent figure of Sydney's underworld.

Cook, who drove Bagnato in a private car to the Cambodian border after the killing, was convicted in a Thai court of aiding and abetting a crime and sentenced to three months jail, which was suspended for two years."

WAtoday

[mercman24]

2 lorry loads of drugs were seized in the last few weeks, i wonder if they will be sentenced to death, just sayin ?? ah is it a joib only a Thai can do ha ha

[canthai55]

1 hour ago, z42 said:

 In short, get a clue mate.

Hear Hear

The War on Drugs is a business. This business harms more people, mostly families, than any other on earth.

Only uninformed, biased people, prejudiced  believe otherwise.

Drugs have never been so cheap, plentiful, and pure since the dawn of Man.

Want the illegal global drug trade - and all it gangs, brutality, murders and tortures to vanish overnight ?

Decriminalize world wide.

Only look to Portugal where this is proven to work.

https://www.theguardian.com/news/2017/dec/05/portugals-radical-drugs-policy-is-working-why-hasnt-the-world-copied-it

[mikebell]

Drug smuggling is best left to the police.

[anon537687643]

Will they be given the same chance as other Thais, who are sentenced to long term, or death, then granted bail, eg, a few years back, 2 cops up north, found guilty of murder, sentenced to death, let out on bail, never heard of since.

Because it’s lawless !


Sent from my iPhone using Thailand Forum - Thaivisa mobile app

[KhunHeineken]

2 hours ago, Orac said:

Is this the ex owner of The Piss Stop  in Pattaya?

It looks like it is.  You can see The Piss Stop Bar in the background.

 

https://www.9news.com.au/2018/11/14/08/08/perth-man-luke-cook-thailand-death-sentence-drug-smuggling-charges-hells-angels-bikie

 

If you were going to transport the drugs to Australia, why wouldn't you sail past Thailand, where they have the death sentence, and if not death, very harsh prison time?  Why wouldn't you sail directly to Australia, with it's huge coast line, most of which has no surveillance, no death penalty, and easier prison time, and if the drugs had to actually be stored, why wouldn't you chose a small nation island?

 

Unless the drugs were actually meant for Thailand.  ????

 

[LomSak27]

1 hour ago, Somtamnication said:

Note to self: do not ever bring drugs into Thailand.

He was exporting them, not importing them. 

[metisdead]

An off topic and the replies have been removed. 

[sanemax]

24 minutes ago, KhunHeineken said:

It looks like it is.  You can see The Piss Stop Bar in the background.

 

https://www.9news.com.au/2018/11/14/08/08/perth-man-luke-cook-thailand-death-sentence-drug-smuggling-charges-hells-angels-bikie

 

If you were going to transport the drugs to Australia, why wouldn't you sail past Thailand, where they have the death sentence, and if not death, very harsh prison time?  Why wouldn't you sail directly to Australia, with it's huge coast line, most of which has no surveillance, no death penalty, and easier prison time, and if the drugs had to actually be stored, why wouldn't you chose a small nation island?

 

Unless the drugs were actually meant for Thailand.  ????

 

Maybe he was on board the yacht and the drugs came overland from China to Thailand ?

[KhunHeineken]

5 minutes ago, sanemax said:

Maybe he was on board the yacht and the drugs came overland from China to Thailand ?

It says they were thrown overboard when spotted by Thai authorities and later washed up on a beach.  The drugs must have been on the boat.

Edited November 14, 2018 by KhunHeineken