Marijuana possession case..

[007 RED]

17 hours ago, daveAustin said:

Any update, op?

If he has been transported from Phuket up to IDC in Bangkok, then the moment he was booked into IDC his mobile phone will have been taken away.  It will be returned when he eventually boards his flight out of the Kingdom.  So for now he can only communicate with the outside world via payphones which are available within IDC.

 

His first, and highest, priority will be to arrange, and pay, for a flight back to his home country - it is extremely unlikely that Immigration will allow him to fly to anywhere else e.g. a neighbouring country.

 

As @mtls2005 has indicated above, there are no direct flights from Bangkok to Athens and this will necessitate the IDC assigned 'travel agent' negotiating with two (or more) airlines to accept the OP for transportation.

 

Hopefully he will provide some feedback when he get back home.

Edited February 3, 2020 by 007 RED

[SpanishExpat]

1 hour ago, 007 RED said:

 

As @mtls2005 has indicated above, there are no direct flights from Bangkok to Athens and this will necessitate the IDC assigned 'travel agent' negotiating with two (or more) airlines to accept the OP for transportation.

 

That fact isn`t true. Yes there no direct flights, but all ME Carriers (Qatar, Emirates, Etihad, Oman Air, Gulf Air, Saudia) fly to Athens. So that shouldn`t be his problem, as there are lot of options. Don`t know though, how it works with the transit, but you usually just have to show your onward boarding pass and not the passport trough transit. At the boarding gate, the agents and crew of the 2nd flight should be informed and he will get his passport back, as soon as he lands in Athens.

[007 RED]

40 minutes ago, SpanishExpat said:

That fact isn`t true.

You agree that there is no direct flight to Athens, so I take it that you think that arranging a flights to Athens via indirect carriers is not going to be a problem.

 

Under the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) rules governing the removal of deportation of persons, only the national carrier is obliged to return the individual to their home country.  In this particular case Olympic Airways does not fly into Bangkok so an alternative carrier who is willing to transport the deportee needs to be found.

 

If the national carrier does not fly to/from the country which is deporting the individual, then the ICAO rules indicate that the deporting authority may request that a carrier who flies a direct route from the country deporting the individual back to their home country to provide transport.  If there is no direct route carrier, the deporting authority may request none-direct carriers to facilitate transport of the person being deported.

 

In the case of a national carrier, they have no option but to provide transport if they fly the route in question.  However, in the case of a none-national carrier who flies a direct route, or a carrier(s) who fly a none-direct route, they are under no obligation to transport a deportee. 

 

You will find that most of the major ME operators are well known in the aviation industry for refusing to carry deportees because of: a) the legal obligations that are then placed upon them by doing so and b) the additional costs incurred in providing secure arrangements for the deportee during transit.

 

Hence my comment that the IDC appointed 'travel agent' will have to negotiate with the carrier(s) in order to acquire transport for the deportee.  Not impossible but it will be difficult.

 

FYI.... ICAO is run under the authority of the United Nations.  The International Air Transport Association (IATA) (which most airlines belong to) follow the ICAO (UN) guidelines governing the transportation of deportees.

[bigginhill]

7 hours ago, 007 RED said:

If he has been transported from Phuket up to IDC in Bangkok, then the moment he was booked into IDC his mobile phone will have been taken away.  It will be returned when he eventually boards his flight out of the Kingdom.  So for now he can only communicate with the outside world via payphones which are available within IDC.

 

His first, and highest, priority will be to arrange, and pay, for a flight back to his home country - it is extremely unlikely that Immigration will allow him to fly to anywhere else e.g. a neighbouring country.

 

As @mtls2005 has indicated above, there are no direct flights from Bangkok to Athens and this will necessitate the IDC assigned 'travel agent' negotiating with two (or more) airlines to accept the OP for transportation.

 

Hopefully he will provide some feedback when he get back home.

007 RED, if you cannot access your phone on IDC, how does it work? Can you only phone telephone numbers you know by heart, or can you access your phone to copy the number down? If you need a lawyer can you access the internet to search for a lawyer? 

Or are you entirely dependent on remembering the number of a person that is clever enough to find you all the help you need? 

Same with money, if you have money on an online account but you cannot transfer that to the jail account?

All depends on your memory of telephone numbers? And that the person you call answers you seeing an unknown thai telephone number. 

 

Who would you call at 1am with little battery when you,ve fell off a cliff?..https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3971370/amp/Man-clung-branch-two-hours-falling-80ft-cliff-managed-call-friends-help-SECONDS-phone-ran-battery.html

 

[Roadkillaf]

Obvious setup is obvious. Not sure how one could be quite that dumb to fall for that, but I guess that's what the island scammers are looking for. 

[dzjacels]

sucks to be in such a situation for weed, but i would never come near any drugs while in Thailand. I love my plant from time to time in my country, but risk is to great for a little high while there.

Remember on my last holidays met/was partying with group of young lads and the moment they lit up the joint i couldn't get away from them fast enough, i don`t want that smell on me ????

[mtls2005]

The photos of the IDC published over the weekend reinforce 007 RED's description.

 

https://www.ucanews.com/news/caged-like-animals-inside-bangkoks-notorious-idc/87104

 

Last year one photo from inside the IDC caused quite a kerfuffle. Imagine this latest batch will be labelled as fake news?

[Nordude]

3 hours ago, mtls2005 said:

Last year one photo from inside the IDC caused quite a kerfuffle.

Cozy! I don't understand why it's so hard for the authorities to put up a few new buildings or floors so that inmates can sleep. They even have free prison labour.

[mtls2005]

41 minutes ago, Nordude said:

Cozy! I don't understand why it's so hard for the authorities to put up a few new buildings or floors so that inmates can sleep. They even have free prison labour.

 

Based on many reports, the Kingdom's entire prison system is overwhelmed, not just the IDC. Estimates of 300,000 - 400,000 inmates are in a system with a capacity of 120,000. 

 

The numbers are a bit shocking, especially for the number of very low level drugs offences. 87% of female inmates are in for meth.

 

Maybe time to try something different?

 

 

 

 

[Vascoda]

7 hours ago, dzjacels said:

sucks to be in such a situation for weed, but i would never come near any drugs while in Thailand. I love my plant from time to time in my country, but risk is to great for a little high while there.

I smoked in my home city Las Vegas the night before I boarded the plane to Bangkok. Caught on a "Big Joke" raid in 2018 in Nana plaza. Privacy violating urine test confirmed it. Was taken to the police station. No amount of saying that I smoked in Las Vegas where it is perfectly legal will move the police captain. At last, have to give some money to the police captain to make me free. 

Edited February 4, 2020 by Vascoda

[mtls2005]

23 minutes ago, Vascoda said:

At last, have to give some money to the police captain to make me free. 

How much?

 

While the OP got pinched for possession, use (verified by a drug test or witness) is also a violation. Believe the wording in both Acts covers possess or use equally (prison, fine).

 

Best to keep a low profile for a couple of weeks, or more, upon a return from the U.S. Urine tests, in addition to being "rigged" by the person administering the test, can detect usage across a broad time-frame, maybe up to 30 days.

 

 

 

 

[Stevemercer]

5 hours ago, mtls2005 said:

The photos of the IDC published over the weekend reinforce 007 RED's description.

 

https://www.ucanews.com/news/caged-like-animals-inside-bangkoks-notorious-idc/87104

 

Last year one photo from inside the IDC caused quite a kerfuffle. Imagine this latest batch will be labelled as fake news?

 

In fact the authorities acknowledged the pictures, but sought to find and prosecute the originator on the basis that the pictures could mislead the public about conditions in IDC and bring reputational harm to the authorities and Thailand more generally!

 

 

[Isaanbiker]

3 hours ago, mtls2005 said:

 

Based on many reports, the Kingdom's entire prison system is overwhelmed, not just the IDC. Estimates of 300,000 - 400,000 inmates are in a system with a capacity of 120,000. 

 

The numbers are a bit shocking, especially for the number of very low level drugs offences. 87% of female inmates are in for meth.

 

Maybe time to try something different?

 

 

 

 

In reality, once in  a prison for a longer period of time and they come out way more "experienced" in many other crimes.

 

   Some of them even plan way more severe crimes and what they'll do once they see the daylight again unfiltered.

 

 There are many other ways to deal with addiction. I wish the government were aware. 

[Isaanbiker]

3 hours ago, Vascoda said:

I smoked in my home city Las Vegas the night before I boarded the plane to Bangkok. Caught on a "Big Joke" raid in 2018 in Nana plaza. Privacy violating urine test confirmed it. Was taken to the police station. No amount of saying that I smoked in Las Vegas where it is perfectly legal will move the police captain. At last, have to give some money to the police captain to make me free. 

Next time tell them that you can't pee when people are watching you and go for a blood test instead.

 

   After two to three days, there's usually no more THC in your bloodstream. It happened to a relative in a more developed country.

 

  Even when you have to pay for the test, better to have a negative test and no problems with these aeehh, well, aeehh police officers. 

 

 

 

 

[holy cow cm]

7 hours ago, mtls2005 said:

The photos of the IDC published over the weekend reinforce 007 RED's description.

 

https://www.ucanews.com/news/caged-like-animals-inside-bangkoks-notorious-idc/87104

 

Last year one photo from inside the IDC caused quite a kerfuffle. Imagine this latest batch will be labelled as fake news?

Holy Bananas. that is like a living devils house. And one white guy has chains around his ankle? For an immigration deportation it is totally inhumane. 

[holy cow cm]

2 hours ago, Stevemercer said:

 

In fact the authorities acknowledged the pictures, but sought to find and prosecute the originator on the basis that the pictures could mislead the public about conditions in IDC and bring reputational harm to the authorities and Thailand more generally!

 

 

Mislead the public? What would they say. Everything was staged?

[Neeranam]

On 1/30/2020 at 4:32 PM, 007 RED said:

OP….. From your comment that, “the plan is to leave for Bangkok IDC and wait there that will take from 4 days to 2 weeks..”  I take it that Immigration has decided that you are going to be deported.

 

Firstly, you may well find that you will be in Phuket for some time.  Immigration will need to arrange for you to be transported from Phuket up to Bangkok.  This will involve arranging for a vehicle and officers to accompany you for the 12 hour road trip.  Don’t expect a luxury sedan to take you, it will more than likely be a wire caged pickup with you sitting in the flatbed.

 

Secondly, it is quite possible that they (Phuket Immigration) may well wait until they have several people that need to be transported to Bangkok, so this will also affect the time you will be in Phuket. 

 

That said, enjoy your time there in Phuket because where you’re going is not going to be so pleasant.

 

When you arrive at the IDC in Bangkok you will be ‘booked in” and all your personal possessions such as your phone, laptop, camera, money etc. will be taken away from you.  You will get these back when you are taken to the airport.  They will allow you to keep a limited quantity of clothing and toiletries.

 

If you have any medical issues, or need medication, make sure you tell them when you arrive at the IDC.

 

You will be allocated to a room within the centre and given a blanket and hard pillow.  The room normally holds 50 or more people at any one time.  There are no beds, you will sleep on the floor in very cramped conditions.  The room has overhead fans but no air conditioning so during the day it can be very hot and at night quite cold. There is a swat toilet at one end of the room.  The smell in the room can be overpowering to say the least.

 

You will be given 2 very basic meals a day and drinking water whilst you are being held in the centre.  If you have money when you arrive you can ask that some, or all, be credited to your account.  You can then use this to purchase better food and additional drinking water through the guards.

 

There are pay phones in IDC, and you will need to arrange to use one and pay with credit from your account.

 

Whatever you do, comply with instructions/orders given by the guards.

 

IDC will inform your Embassy that you are being detained there whilst arrangements are made for your deportation.  Don’t expect your Embassy to come running to your rescue, they won’t because they can not interfere with the ‘lawful process’.  Your Embassy will only make sure that if you need medication you are provided with it and they will also arrange for your relatives to be notified if you want them to.  Embassies generally will not provide funds to you.  They may, however, arrange for money sent from a relative to be credited to your account in IDC if required.  Some Embassies make a charge for this service. 

 

You can have visitors whilst you are in IDC.  However, Immigration will only allow your close relative, legal representative or Embassy Officer to visit you in IDC.  Your visitor will need to register with IDC prior to their arrival and if allowed in you and your visitor will be separated by dual fences about 1 meter apart in an open yard.  Your visitor can bring food, water, clothing for you.  They can also deposit money into your credit account.

 

Whilst you are in IDC, Immigration will carry out a risk assessment on you.  This will be based upon your conduct whilst you are in the IDC.  Provided that you have behave yourself they will allow you to fly back home unaccompanied.  If you are involved in any problems or disobey orders given to you whilst you’re in IDC they (Immigration) may decide that you need to be escorted during your return flight(s) and you will have to pay for the escort’s return flights and accommodation as well as your own flight costs.

 

IDC will arrange for a travel agent to book your flight out of the Kingdom.  This will be to your home country and you will have to pay the cost of the flight. 

 

Immigration normally require that your flight is a direct flight.  If there are no direct flights to your home country then the travel agent will need to seek consent from both Immigration and the airlines involved for you to travel before a booking can be made and this can sometime take a few days. 

 

You need to be aware that a single flight ticket often costs as much, if not more, than a return flight ticket.  Also, flights purchased at relatively short notice are usually very expensive.  You will pay for your flight with money in your IDC credit account, or with your credit card if you have one. 

 

If you already have a return ticket (to your home country), this can be used as part payment toward your new ticket, regardless if it is, or is not, with the same airline.  This may reduce the cost of the new ticket but not by a lot as there is normally a heavy penalty to pay when changing flights and dates etc.

 

Don’t expect that your outbound flight will be the day after you pay for the flight.  It is more than likely to be a week or more after payment has been made.  Once again Immigration will need time to arrange transport and escorts to take you from IDC to the airport.  Also, they (Immigration) try to arrange to transport for several people to the airport at one time.  You may well be charged for the transport and escort costs.

 

Prior to being taken to the airport you will be given back your possessions which were removed when you were booked into IDC, and any money still in your credit account.

 

When you are taken to the airport you will be taken to the airport detention facility where you will wait for your flight.  This facility will seem like a 5 star hotel compared to IDC.  An airline representative will come to the detention facility to ‘check you in’. 

 

Just prior to normal passenger boarding you will be taken to the gate by security staff and handed over to the airline staff.  The airline staff will keep your passport until you disembark at your home destination.

 

Please be aware that your passport will have a nice red stamp indicating that you have been deported from Thailand and the reason why (this will be in Thai).  It is also possible that the deportation stamp will be accompanied by a second stamp stating that you have been banned from entering the Kingdom for whatever period has been set by Immigration.

 

You need to also be aware that Thai Immigration will notify their counterparts in your home country that you have been deported, the reason why and your flight details, so it is possible that you may have a welcoming committee waiting for you when you arrive back home.

 

Best of luck.

Good advice

[Vascoda]

11 hours ago, mtls2005 said:

How much?

3K baht. That's all I had in my wallet.

[Vascoda]

9 hours ago, Isaanbiker said:

Next time tell them that you can't pee when people are watching you and go for a blood test instead.

You go to a toilet to pee not in the open. I was offered hospital option also but they said they would book me in the cell for the night and go to the hospital in the morning.  I thought I did not smoke in Tailand, why should I care.  Police was more interested in knowing who was my spplier. May be they wanted to catch an African guy for possession of other stuff also. They kept asking me. I repeatedly said I did not buy in Thailand. I bought in Las Vegas where perfectly legal shops sell them openly. But they did not beleive me. I could have gone to the judge but knowing how Thailand's judicial system is, did not want to get invovled and just paid 3K. 

Edited February 4, 2020 by Vascoda

[metempsychotic]

On 2/3/2020 at 9:01 PM, bigginhill said:

007 RED, if you cannot access your phone on IDC, how does it work? Can you only phone telephone numbers you know by heart, or can you access your phone to copy the number down? If you need a lawyer can you access the internet to search for a lawyer? 

Or are you entirely dependent on remembering the number of a person that is clever enough to find you all the help you need? 

Same with money, if you have money on an online account but you cannot transfer that to the jail account?

All depends on your memory of telephone numbers? And that the person you call answers you seeing an unknown thai telephone number. 

 

Who would you call at 1am with little battery when you,ve fell off a cliff?..https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3971370/amp/Man-clung-branch-two-hours-falling-80ft-cliff-managed-call-friends-help-SECONDS-phone-ran-battery.html

 

Only person I have know who went through idc (phuket, bangkok, then suvarnabhumi) had phone access throughout.

 

As for the rest of the speculation good lord gentlemen give it a rest.

Edited February 4, 2020 by metempsychotic

[mtls2005]

9 hours ago, Vascoda said:

3K baht. That's all I had in my wallet.

 

Thanks.

 

Did they ask for 3,000? Or more, and then you negotiated?

 

 

[Vascoda]

1 hour ago, mtls2005 said:

Did they ask for 3,000? Or more, and then you negotiated?

They asked for 10K. 

Edited February 5, 2020 by Vascoda

[rech]

19 hours ago, Vascoda said:

You go to a toilet to pee not in the open. I was offered hospital option also but they said they would book me in the cell for the night and go to the hospital in the morning.  I thought I did not smoke in Tailand, why should I care.  Police was more interested in knowing who was my spplier. May be they wanted to catch an African guy for possession of other stuff also. They kept asking me. I repeatedly said I did not buy in Thailand. I bought in Las Vegas where perfectly legal shops sell them openly. But they did not beleive me. I could have gone to the judge but knowing how Thailand's judicial system is, did not want to get invovled and just paid 3K. 

 

 

where did they check you and how much did you pay ?

 

 

[Caldera]

21 hours ago, Vascoda said:

I bought in Las Vegas where perfectly legal shops sell them openly. But they did not beleive me. I could have gone to the judge but knowing how Thailand's judicial system is, did not want to get invovled and just paid 3K. 

I think you did well! If I'm not mistaken, the way the law is written, it's illegal - in Thailand - to have the drug in your system. So I don't think that a Thai judge would acquit you even if you could convince them that you didn't "do drugs" in Thailand.

[BritManToo]

19 minutes ago, Caldera said:

I think you did well! If I'm not mistaken, the way the law is written, it's illegal - in Thailand - to have the drug in your system. So I don't think that a Thai judge would acquit you even if you could convince them that you didn't "do drugs" in Thailand.

Let's hope the Thai authorities don't think of wee testing all Americans and Canadians as they're entering the country. That'd be a nice little earner ...... bad guys out, etc.

Edited February 5, 2020 by BritManToo

[Vascoda]

3 hours ago, rech said:

where did they check you and how much did you pay ?

I was stopped at Nana in a raids that Big Joke used to conduct frequently in places where foreginers congregrte like night clubs, Nana, Soi cow boy, etc. They wanted to see my passport but I did not have the passport. Immigration officials checked in their data base using their mobile phone and immediately cleared me. But I was then sent to Lumphini police gang that accompanied Big Joke's raid. Paid 3k to the police captain. They typed a fake letter that said I was in the police station for not having passport in my possesion and my friend Maria brought my passport to the police station and I was released. They never booked me for marijuana in my system. Capatain's minion said if they book you for marijuana in the system, it will be lots of trouble and I have to spend a lot of money. I signed that fake letter after paying 3K. 

[smedly]

On 1/26/2020 at 3:10 PM, Nanaplaza666 said:

I think you are right , the negotiation period was the 3 days at the police station . After the courtdate is set your in the system no more negotiation . 

he can negotiate - the cops will take his money under the table and nothing will change - he will still go to court...…………….not much he can do about it is there

 

go to court like most on here have advised - pay your fine and off you go

 

Strangely the worst that is going to happen is after the court case - the police will likely arrest you for overstay and try to gouge you for money, so when you know your court date make sure you have already bought a date flexible ticket out of the country so that when they march you to the airport you will already have an air ticket and there will be no waiting around in an IDC cell

 

 

 

ooops didn't read the whole thread so ignore my post lol

Edited February 6, 2020 by smedly

[ChipButty]

10 hours ago, BritManToo said:

Let's hope the Thai authorities don't think of wee testing all Americans and Canadians as they're entering the country. That'd be a nice little earner ...... bad guys out, etc.

And Dutch

[FarFlungFalang]

29 minutes ago, ChipButty said:

And Dutch

You can now also add Canberra,Australia.

[sallecc]

So I guess he is in IDC for some days already, and without his phone...