Immigration police nab Iranian for allegedly duping Japanese tourist into carrying luggage containing ‘ice’

By Khanathit Srihirundaj 
The Nation

 

 

Thai police have arrested an Iranian man who allegedly lured a Japanese tourist into carrying a bag containing about 2 kilograms of crystal methamphetamine, or “ice”, and four plastic-sealed shirts soaked and laced with the drug.

 

The tourist was reportedly duped by being offered a free tour package to Thailand, China and Germany that came with Bt200,000 in pocket money, Immigration Police Bureau deputy chief Pol Maj-General Itthipol Itthisanronnachai told a press conference on Monday.

 

Police received a report on December 7 from the Japanese Embassy in Thailand that a Japanese tourist had been lured into joining the free tour package via a website and had received the luggage that he was required to carry during the trip, Itthipol said.

 

The unnamed tourist opened the bag out of suspicion, and found it to contain hard clothing items in sealed plastic bags, which further aroused his suspicion and caused him to contact the embassy. 

 

Immigration police then conducted a sting operation to net the bag’s owner, and 43-year-old Iranian suspect Mohamad Ali Ezazi showed up the same night to collect the luggage, the deputy police chief explained. 

 

After presenting themselves to arrest the man, officers searched the bag and found the plastic-sealed shirts as well as six packs of “ice” powder, weighing about 2kg, hidden in a secret compartment. 

 

A condominium in Soi Pattanakan 42 in Bangkok’s Suan Luang district yielded similar luggage, while a condominium in Soi Pattanakan 26 yielded the same, plus five packs of “ice” weighing 1.36kg.

 

Ezazi reportedly confessed to police that he had delivered the bag to the Japanese tourist after conspiring with Iranian compatriots and criminal partners in Japan to lure people with a free tour package, which required the participants to carry his gang’s bags containing drugs to target countries in Asia and Europe. 

 

Police charged Ezazi with having narcotics in his possession with intent to sell, and will investigate further in order to arrest his accomplices in Thailand and Japan, Itthipol added.

 

A subsequent search at two other locations found more drugs.

 

Source: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/detail/national/30360121

 

-- © Copyright The Nation 2018-12-10

Did he get to keep the 200k and free trip to Thailand?

The Japanese guy needs a witness protection program

Follow Singapore's lead.  Mandatory death sentence for drug offences!  No ifs, no buts, no "Do you know who I am or who I know".  DEATH!

clever scam, he must have read the story of George Jung, who I believe invented it in the 1980's. 

14 minutes ago, prakhonchai nick said:

Follow Singapore's lead.  Mandatory death sentence for drug offences!  No ifs, no buts, no "Do you know who I am or who I know".  DEATH!

I know just how I would get rid of my enemies.

 

 

Hope they send me a suitcase too plus 200 k.

52 minutes ago, prakhonchai nick said:

Follow Singapore's lead.  Mandatory death sentence for drug offences!  No ifs, no buts, no "Do you know who I am or who I know".  DEATH!

That would get rid of a lot of the criminal element and maybe some rich and powerful also (but they will "protect" themselves with large brown envelopes)?

1 hour ago, prakhonchai nick said:

Follow Singapore's lead.  Mandatory death sentence for drug offences!  No ifs, no buts, no "Do you know who I am or who I know".  DEATH!

I'm all for the death penalty, but what if the Japanese guy didn't open the bag and did as he was told for the tour, that would be a waste of an innocent person dying instead of the real criminals, sure you would agree, no ifs, no buts, no "Do you know who I am or who I know,

5 minutes ago, 4MyEgo said:

I'm all for the death penalty, but what if the Japanese guy didn't open the bag and did as he was told for the tour, that would be a waste of an innocent person dying instead of the real criminals, sure you would agree, no ifs, no buts, no "Do you know who I am or who I know,

Understand what you are inferring BUT why would you carry someone elses luggage, in this day and age?

12 minutes ago, lvr181 said:

Understand what you are inferring BUT why would you carry someone elses luggage, in this day and age?

Yeh, you would have to be pretty stupid.

 

I remember a few years back this guy at Sydney airport (just arrived) asked me to hold a parcel he was holding (towards the exit), asked me to hold his parcel while he did up his shoe lace, I looked down and his shoelace was untied, I just shook my head as if to say no and proceeded to the exit, don't know whether he was legit or if he made it through, suffice to say, not my problem, I mean what if customs walked up to me and asked what was in the box, um, I don't know, it belongs to him; who me, no way, it's not mine, I could just see that unfolding, nice guy I am and would help an old lady cross the road if she asked, but hold someone's parcel at the airport, no way, that is unless she was drop dead gorgeous and told me that she and her drop dead gorgeous girlfriend would have sex with me in the ladies....lol

Edited December 11, 20187 yr by 4MyEgo

2 hours ago, lust said:

Did he get to keep the 200k and free trip to Thailand?

Not if the TPF had anything to say about it!

 

 

27 minutes ago, 4MyEgo said:

Yeh, you would have to be pretty stupid.

 

I remember a few years back this guy at Sydney airport (just arrived) asked me to hold a parcel he was holding (towards the exit), asked me to hold his parcel while he did up his shoe lace, I looked down and his shoelace was untied, I just shook my head as if to say no and proceeded to the exit, don't know whether he was legit or if he made it through, suffice to say, not my problem, I mean what if customs walked up to me and asked what was in the box, um, I don't know, it belongs to him; who me, no way, it's not mine, I could just see that unfolding, nice guy I am and would help an old lady cross the road if she asked, but hold someone's parcel at the airport, no way, that is unless she was drop dead gorgeous and told me that she and her drop dead gorgeous girlfriend would have sex with me in the ladies....lol

With this Iranian, it's more likely you'd have sex with him and his friend in the Gents.

55 minutes ago, lvr181 said:

That would get rid of a lot of the criminal element and maybe some rich and powerful also (but they will "protect" themselves with large brown envelopes)?

Sentenced to death, but released after 3 years...

3 minutes ago, PerkinsCuthbert said:

With this Iranian, it's more likely you'd have sex with him and his friend in the Gents.

His friend wouldn't be the 4 legged type would he ?

 

Im glad he found the drugs before the police did. 

Looks like both of them will be enjoying their stay in Thailand 

one in the Bangkok Hilton and the other in the Hilton Bangkok 

14 hours ago, snoop1130 said:

The tourist was reportedly duped by being offered a free tour package to Thailand, China and Germany that came with Bt200,000 in pocket money,

For carrying 4 shirts  to Japan,and the Japanese gentleman did not

immediately smell a rat ?,either stupid or greedy or both.I suppose

the trips to Thailand,China and Germany would entail carrying more

shirts !

regards Worgeordie

Why not leave the bag at home, take the money and the trip,stay elsewhere,report to police when home.????????????

2 hours ago, prakhonchai nick said:

Follow Singapore's lead.  Mandatory death sentence for drug offences!  No ifs, no buts, no "Do you know who I am or who I know".  DEATH!

When I used to get my Thai Visa renewed in Malaysia the Malay stamp in my passport clearly written in English was "Drugs Are Death". Plain and simple.

He should have left out the part about the 200k. 

3 hours ago, prakhonchai nick said:

Follow Singapore's lead.  Mandatory death sentence for drug offences!  No ifs, no buts, no "Do you know who I am or who I know".  DEATH!

Death for coffee, cigarettes and alcohol seems a little extreme

2 hours ago, prakhonchai nick said:

Follow Singapore's lead.  Mandatory death sentence for drug offences!  No ifs, no buts, no "Do you know who I am or who I know".  DEATH!

The mentality exemplifying why the Land of Something Something is still such a backwards, medieval territory.

 

The length of Thailand's borders is rougly 28 TIMES that of Singapore's, and mostly land, rather than water.
Beyond those borders are some of the poorest folks on the face of the earth, who have little to lose and far more to gain, IF geniuses like the above increase the price of drugs through capital punishment.

Capital punishment has not stopped ANY crime in history, including in Thailand AND Singapore, especially regarding victimless crimes.

 

You can shoot drug users and traffickers on sight, as PH has tried, and all you'll do is drive the price of drugs up - the same as in Singapore and the like - and make it more lucrative to take the risk, and kill a lot of innocent people.

 

Advanced countries, like Portugal, etcetera, finally understood that drug use is a medical rather than a criminal problem, and treat it as such.

 

Boneheaded banana republics, such as LOSS, and other lamebrain authoritarian States, such as US, criminalize it, because it's profitable for the state brown-shirt gangs to "fight" these "crimes" unsuccessfully in perpetuity, as the centuries long "war on drugs" has shown worldwide.  
 

"WAR IS PEACE. FREEDOM IS SLAVERY. IGNORANCE IS STRENGTH"

- George Orwell, 1984, Chapter 1

Do Thai police, police because of a sense of duty to provide this service because of payment by the public, ethical standards that view crime as a social wrong, or for the photo opportunities?

4 hours ago, lust said:

Did he get to keep the 200k and free trip to Thailand?

If I had the "spending money" in my arse pocket I'm sure I'd be doing the sights !!

How many times do the airlines and police say, "Don't carry other people's luggage!".  However, smart that this guy opened the luggage and contacted the authority.  One less trafficker on the streets attempting to screw up other peoples lives.  However, gotta figure this is a cartel operation.  I wonder how much that Japanese man's life is worth now?  I wouldn't want to be him.

Not all mules are stupid it seems. If I was a drug trafficker I'd be pretty worried by this example. Stick to your drug addicts, and people desperate, for one reason or another, for money. Maybe their mother needs an operation. Ha!  Don't involve ordinary people in your nefarious trade. Yeah, they're more likely to get thru but it's a closed system - the drug dealers live off the stupid, the law enforcement agencies live off the drug dealers. Once you start encroaching on ordinary people maybe someone will take a closer look at what's exactly going on here.

11 minutes ago, twig said:

Advanced countries, like Portugal, etcetera, finally understood that drug use is a medical rather than a criminal problem, and treat it as such.

Exactly!

A post that contained an ethnic slur comment toward Japanese people has been removed. 

1 hour ago, taipan1949 said:

When I used to get my Thai Visa renewed in Malaysia the Malay stamp in my passport clearly written in English was "Drugs Are Death". Plain and simple.

Oh no it is'nt as plain and simple as that.  A couple of years ago two senior Indonesian policemen were caught entering BRUNI airport, with a suitcase full of drugs. But after negotiations between Malaysia and Indonesia. They were both allowed to go free and back to their jobs in Indonesia. Cop that !