British Expats' Thai Villa Xanax Empire Lands them in Jail

[BritManToo]

5 hours ago, Gottfrid said:

Do you guys who made the posts above realize it´s a criminal offense, or are you incapable of understanding such

I don't believe in drugs as a crime.

It's a personal choice, and you're only harming yourself.

[Formaleins]

3 hours ago, Baht Simpson said:

It's a long time since I worked in anti-money laundering but the standard sentences then were 14 years for serious offenses and  2 years for collusion to launder money. 8 years seems extremely lenient.  

 

Try posting some anti government or supposedly "Far Right" "hate speech" in the UK - they will destroy your life, you will lose your job, you will go to jail (if you dare to post to Fartbook or Twatter) - Plod will be at your door to arrest you and have you silenced - This is the reality in the UK these days - just be glad you are as free as you are here in Thailand - British Justice died a long time ago and brother / comrade Queer Stalin will make sure you pay!

[Baht Simpson]

1 hour ago, Formaleins said:

Try posting some anti government or supposedly "Far Right" "hate speech" in the UK - they will destroy your life, you will lose your job, you will go to jail (if you dare to post to Fartbook or Twatter) - Plod will be at your door to arrest you and have you silenced - This is the reality in the UK these days - just be glad you are as free as you are here in Thailand - British Justice died a long time ago and brother / comrade Queer Stalin will make sure you pay!

Don't be silly.

[Gottfrid]

1 hour ago, BritManToo said:

I don't believe in drugs as a crime.

It's a personal choice, and you're only harming yourself.

You don´t believe???? It doesn´t matter what you believe! There are laws, that stipulate it´s a crime. This was not about using drugs. They were producing and selling fake medicine under a registered trademark.

[Gottfrid]

5 hours ago, frank83628 said:

Copyright and class c,not exactly injecting kids with fentanyl, is it but, in gottfrids world they should face the noose after firing squad.

Never said that. However, I am not apologizing for criminals either.

[Watawattana]

7 hours ago, Yagoda said:

What a tough sentence! Damn the Brits are harsh! A whole 8 years, wow.

Under potential upcoming British sentencing guidelines, it's possible that those of a different cultural background may get a much more lenient sentence.  Crazy.  

[Merrill]

Well, theirs a thing pot calling the kettle black. Pfizer of all the people never in their whole career have they produced a cure for anything ki**lled millions with BS and mRNA and are not accountable, and to top it all been in lawsuits costing Millions for criminality. Paying off 60M for people to say the right thing and shut the duck up. You can't make it up. One of the biggest criminals in the World and they are chasing a few Brits for copying them LOL.

[thesetat]

9 hours ago, webfact said:

amassing an astonishing £4 million (176 million baht).

A slap on the wrist... I am most sure if i was offered this much money to get only 4 to 6 years in prison, that i would surely be tempted. 

They will be among the wealthy once released from prison. 

[nahkit]

7 hours ago, Upnotover said:

Spoils?  6 years unpaid rent and some dirty washing most likely.

Where do you get 6 years of unpaid rent from?

 

"Their luxurious Thai villa between 2018 and 2019"

[freedomnow]

5 hours ago, Baht Simpson said:

Don't be silly.

It's going that way in the UK...the policing of expression of speech or written stuff at all levels plus the feminists law tools.

[OJAS]

1 hour ago, freedomnow said:

It's going that way in the UK...the policing of expression of speech or written stuff at all levels plus the feminists law tools.

 

Those of a different cultural background excepted, of course.

 

[newbee2022]

On 3/28/2025 at 9:32 AM, webfact said:

Picture courtesy of West Midlands Police

 

A British couple, living the high life in Thailand, has been slapped with a 10-year prison sentence for orchestrating a vast drugs empire. Brian Pitts, 30, and Katie Harlow, 27, masterminded a multi-million-pound operation, producing and distributing fake Xanax pills via the dark web, amassing an astonishing £4 million (176 million baht).

 

Their luxurious Thai villa between 2018 and 2019 was a façade for their sinister dealings. Behind the glamorous exterior lay a massive counterfeit pill operation, churning out up to 11 million fake Xanax tablets from makeshift labs scattered across the West Midlands. Using cryptocurrency, they cleverly concealed their profits, laundering dirty money through bitcoin.

 

Their glamorous crime spree met its end after a five-year international investigation, championed by pharmaceutical giant Pfizer Ltd. The couple's jet-set lifestyle crumbled in August 2019 as they landed in the UK from Thailand, smugly carting designer gear and Rolex watches.

 

The harrowing details of their scheming were laid out at Wolverhampton Crown Court on March 27. Pitts, the brains from Bilston, West Midlands, admitted to conspiracy to supply class C drugs and trademark offences.

 

 

 

His confession saw him sentenced to eight years behind bars. Meanwhile, Harlow, residing with Pitts in a plain semi-detached house, admitted to money laundering and received a sentence of two years and one month.

 

The scale of their operation was unearthed in a police raid at a Tipton shed, housing a counterfeit Xanax factory, complete with an industrial powder mixer. Meanwhile, a Wolverhampton garage inspection revealed a tablet press machine, metal pill casts, powders, and even a handwritten recipe list.

 

Picture courtesy of West Midlands Police

 

Detectives tracked their purchase of four pill press machines from a UK firm, costing £30,000 (1.32 million baht), capable of churning out 10,000 pills an hour. Notably, a significant shipment of Alprazolam and analogue Adinazolam powder from China, along with various bulking agents, was intercepted.

 

Their courtroom drama extends beyond Pitts and Harlow. Three other gang members were handed hefty sentences, while five more await judgment. Lee Lloyd, 48, from Tipton, received seven years and two months for conspiracy to supply Class C drugs.

 

Kyle Smith, 26, from Willenhall, was given four years, while Mark Bayley, 63, from Wolverhampton, was jailed for six years and five months for possession with intent to supply Class B drugs.

 

Speaking on the case, Jonathan Kelleher from the Crown Prosecution Service underlined the potential havoc caused by the gang's reckless pursuit of profit. "This was a case of fake medicines being produced on an industrial scale, with significant potential harm to the public," he declared.

 

Detective Inspector Dave Hollies of the West Midlands Regional Organised Crime Unit added, "The scale of production of these counterfeit tablets ran in the millions." The gang’s acquisition of over two tonnes of bulking agent, compounded with 220kg of active ingredients, highlighted the chilling efficiency of their operation.

 

Xanax, powerful for treating anxiety and panic attacks, isn't available on the NHS, though it’s prescribed privately in the UK. The gang's counterfeit concoctions could have wreaked havoc, posing an insidious threat now neutralised.

 

For Pitts and Harlow, the game is over. Their lush lifestyle, funded by crime, now stands as a stark warning about the risks of dabbling in the perilous world of international drug trafficking.

 

Based on a story by The Thaiger

 

-- 2025-03-28

 

 

Thank you judges, though 10 years is not enough.

[BritManToo]

8 minutes ago, newbee2022 said:

Thank you judges, though 10 years is not enough.

What harm do you think they caused to anyone (except Pfizer profits)?

[newbee2022]

2 minutes ago, BritManToo said:

What harm do you think they caused to anyone (except Pfizer profits)?

If you want to be funny look for somebody else

[Dr. Zorg]

Lucky for them they were not nabbed here. They woul be facing life sentences.

[black tabby12345]

Xanax: Often used to relieve depression and anxiety.

[Ralf001]

2 minutes ago, Dr. Zorg said:

Lucky for them they were not nabbed here. They woul be facing life sentences.

 

I doubt they would be given life sentences in Thailand for manufacturing xanax in the UK.

[black tabby12345]

On 3/28/2025 at 9:45 AM, frank83628 said:

So the only link to Thailand is they rented a Villa. None of the operation happened in here.

Pretty clever too, not sure what havoc it would have caused. 

 

Are they likely to be promptly deported, instead of prosecuted and jailed here?

 

[black tabby12345]

On 3/28/2025 at 5:14 PM, Gottfrid said:

 producing and selling fake medicine under a registered trademark.

 

Medication version of Pirate Copy.

[frank83628]

Just now, black tabby12345 said:

 

Are they likely to be promptly deported, instead of prosecuted and jailed here?

 

They have already been arrested, charged and sentenced, all happened in the UK. The only connection to Thailand was they rented a Villa.

[black tabby12345]

Just now, frank83628 said:

They have already been arrested, charged and sentenced, all happened in the UK. The only connection to Thailand was they rented a Villa.

 

They seem to be rather "lucky".

As they don't have to go to Thai jail.

[frank83628]

2 minutes ago, black tabby12345 said:

 

They seem to be rather "lucky".

As they don't have to go to Thai jail.

Not sure what would have happened here, ts a prescribed drug in the UK. Is it bought  over the counter in Thailand

[black tabby12345]

2 minutes ago, frank83628 said:

Not sure what would have happened here, ts a prescribed drug in the UK. Is it bought  over the counter in Thailand

 

If it is about the fake medicine, their charge may not be as serious as the illegal narcotics.

But whatever they are prosecuted for in such a case, the same hellish state of their prison.

That is one thing pretty sure about...

[Ralf001]

4 minutes ago, frank83628 said:

 Is it bought  over the counter in Thailand

 

There will be some pharmacies selling UTC... but legally it is by script only.

[Dexxter]

They did not get a 10 year sentence. He got 8 and she got 2. Adding up the sentences of two people is misleading.

[PopGun]

On 3/28/2025 at 3:14 AM, Yagoda said:

What a tough sentence! Damn the Brits are harsh! A whole 8 years, wow.

Two years and one Month for money laundering 😂

The justice system in England is very broken.

People get longer sentences for hurty words on Social Media.

[PopGun]

On 3/28/2025 at 4:52 PM, OJAS said:

 

Those of a different cultural background excepted, of course.

 

🕋🕌

[PopGun]

4 hours ago, black tabby12345 said:

 

If it is about the fake medicine, their charge may not be as serious as the illegal narcotics.

But whatever they are prosecuted for in such a case, the same hellish state of their prison.

That is one thing pretty sure about...

They are in prison in England, where prison is pretty cushy, unless your name is Tommy Robinson.

(Yaxley-Lennon)

[black tabby12345]

On 3/28/2025 at 3:42 PM, Formaleins said:

Try posting some anti government or supposedly "Far Right" "hate speech" in the UK - they will destroy your life, you will lose your job, you will go to jail (if you dare to post to Fartbook or Twatter) - Plod will be at your door to arrest you and have you silenced - This is the reality in the UK these days - just be glad you are as free as you are here in Thailand - British Justice died a long time ago and brother / comrade Queer Stalin will make sure you pay!

 

Little had I expected the World's Oldest Democracy ceases to exist during my lifetime.