Thais arrest French man suspected of smuggling in nearly half a kilo (1 pound) of cocaine

BANGKOK, Thailand - Police on a popular south Thailand resort island said Monday they have arrested a French man who allegedly smuggled in 454 grams (1 pound) of cocaine from South America.

Acting on a tip, immigration police at the airport on the island of Samui searched Alain Bellaiche, 40, after he arrived Sunday on a flight from Bangkok, and determined that he was carrying the drug in 65 small packets that he had swallowed in an attempt to avoid detection, said Police Capt. Narongpol Pilmolsiri.

Narongpol said the suspect told police he had swallowed the drug while in Sao Paulo, Brazil, before flying from there to Bangkok and taking a connecting flight to Samui, which is in the Gulf of Thailand about 410 kilometers (290 miles) south of Bangkok.

X-rays showed several capsules in Bellaiche's stomach, and police took him to a hospital where he took a laxative to help him excrete the packets, Narongpol said.

Police said Bellaiche, whose hometown they were unable to provide, was in custody pending further investigation. He could face life in prison if charged and convicted of drug trafficking, police said.

Cocaine is mostly used in Thailand by the wealthy. Methamphetamine and heroin, both produced in the region, is more popular among the less affluent.

- Associated Press

Alain Bellaiche, 40, after he arrived Sunday on a flight from Bangkok, and determined that he was carrying the drug in 65 small packets that he had swallowed in an attempt to avoid detection, said Police Capt. Narongpol Pilmolsiri.

shouldnt that be alain bellyaiche ?

Well he'll have plenty of time to bellyache in the coming years. Still he won't be worrying about which type of visa to get and his accommodation plus "meals" will be provided free of charge.

will they never learn...just lucky he wasn't in singapore, indo, or malaysia. there they really do enforce the death penalty for drug traffickers. in los, it's usually "only" a long jail term (probably worse than a death sentence anyway).

And to whom was he to deliver this sh*t?

Sao Paolo - BKK - USM... a long long trip for carrying drugs in your body...

And to whom was he to deliver this sh*t?

The usual suspects?

will they never learn ,will be a very old man before he see the light of a free day ........

Sao Paolo - BKK - USM... a long long trip for carrying drugs in your body...

I was thinking the exact same - my pal at work just went Singapore - Sao Paulo for business - very legal before we get any smartarse comments from others

He flew Singapore to FRA - to Sao Paulo I think it was - a bloody long duration all told.

This guy would not have been able to eat or drink the whole period on the plane would he - a known giveaway for smugglers

will they never learn ,will be a very old man before he see the light of a free day ........

I know, absolutely unbelievable that people risk so much for this

This guy would not have been able to eat or drink the whole period on the plane would he - a known giveaway for smugglers

I never thought of that. Do you think that Air Crew look out for this type of thing and then report it?

I've heard that air crew do keep an eye out for exactly this kind of behavior. Perhaps where the "tip" came from.

well. now we know, another one... bangkok hilton... and the story goes on..

I've heard that air crew do keep an eye out for exactly this kind of behavior. Perhaps where the "tip" came from.

I should be ok then, as i eat everything they put in front of me and drink more than they offer me

Ppl take the Thai customs and police for lazy fools, but hearing of criminals sing so fast after being confronted, I think they do a good job!

Cocaine found in plane toilet in Sydney

Almost six kilograms of cocaine has been found dumped in an aircraft toilet cubicle at Sydney airport.

The Boeing 747 was searched by Customs officers on Sunday morning after arriving in Sydney from Los Angeles.

Officers and specialist dog teams found 12 blocks of shrink-wrapped white powder in a garbage bin in one of the toilet cubicles.

The powder was later confirmed as 5.7 kilograms of cocaine with an estimated street value of $660,000.

Customs manager Gayle Brown said the drugs had been handed over to the Australian Federal Police.

"It's pretty obvious that whoever planned to import these drugs got cold feet at some stage," she said in a statement.

Ms Brown said Customs officers focus on checking passengers but also regularly search international aircraft.

"This latest detection provides another good example of why we need to continue carrying out these physical checks."

Peter

I've heard that air crew do keep an eye out for exactly this kind of behavior. Perhaps where the "tip" came from.

I should be ok then, as i eat everything they put in front of me and drink more than they offer me

Who do you fly with then MrBoj? I've yet to fly with an airline that serves food I feel like eating, much less finishing

I can never fathom people who do this kind of thing myself. I suspect they think they won't get caught and so never consider the fallout --whereas I would always consider the consequences of getting caught and thus would not do it.

If I were so poor that I would consider smuggling drugs I think I'd beg on the street first, but I doubt that is the reason these people take these kinds of risks. Greed is more likely.

I've heard that air crew do keep an eye out for exactly this kind of behavior. Perhaps where the "tip" came from.

wow, so next time I sleep through my intercontinental flight I risk being examined by a spandex glove?

I've heard that air crew do keep an eye out for exactly this kind of behavior. Perhaps where the "tip" came from.

wow, so next time I sleep through my intercontinental flight I risk being examined by a spandex glove?

My you sure can sleep then. I can't sleep much more than 5-6 during a 13 hour flight like the one that would have been merely the first leg of his journey

I've heard that air crew do keep an eye out for exactly this kind of behavior. Perhaps where the "tip" came from.

I should be ok then, as i eat everything they put in front of me and drink more than they offer me

Who do you fly with then MrBoj? I've yet to fly with an airline that serves food I feel like eating, much less finishing

I can never fathom people who do this kind of thing myself. I suspect they think they won't get caught and so never consider the fallout --whereas I would always consider the consequences of getting caught and thus would not do it.

If I were so poor that I would consider smuggling drugs I think I'd beg on the street first, but I doubt that is the reason these people take these kinds of risks. Greed is more likely.

Desperation more likely !

Naka.

I've heard that air crew do keep an eye out for exactly this kind of behavior. Perhaps where the "tip" came from.

I should be ok then, as i eat everything they put in front of me and drink more than they offer me

Who do you fly with then MrBoj? I've yet to fly with an airline that serves food I feel like eating, much less finishing

All Airlines serve food that i can eat sbk. I've yet to fly on one that i couldn't stomach. Except one time i flew with Emirates during Ramadam, they ran out of the normal type food and only had this special one which is supposed to be only for muslims who are travelling during day light hours. Have you tasted it

I think it comes from when i was single, I'm not a good cook and so at every opportunity that someone else cooked me food, i would devour it and store it, as i didn't know where my next meal would come from

If I were so poor that I would consider smuggling drugs I think I'd beg on the street first, but I doubt that is the reason these people take these kinds of risks. Greed is more likely.

Yeah same here. There are many things i would do first but if push came to shove, i certainly wouldn't do it in a country where the results of being caught where as harsh as Thailand. For instance, if you get caught in the UK, you get a lovely cell, 3 meals a day and Satellite TV. It's a no brainer IMO

Sao Paolo - BKK - USM... a long long trip for carrying drugs in your body...

I was thinking the exact same - my pal at work just went Singapore - Sao Paulo for business - very legal before we get any smartarse comments from others

He flew Singapore to FRA - to Sao Paulo I think it was - a bloody long duration all told.

This guy would not have been able to eat or drink the whole period on the plane would he - a known giveaway for smugglers

On the occasions I've had a seriously upset stomach I've taken some pills and consequently found no need to sit on the throne for several days in spite of eating regularly

Couldn't this foolish Frenchman have done the same thing thereby evading suspicious glances?

Good they catch him but… pity we don’t know now where he would bring the load. I think it would be better to follow him and see where he deliver his goods. I mean the guy is just a mule, no brains at all. To grab the one who order the load is more interesting because he have the money paid.

Well over 25 year we can read it in the book the French guy will write. Al prisoners here are writers as they get free and start complain about the nice Thai prisons.

Regards

Ppl take the Thai customs and police for lazy fools, but hearing of criminals sing so fast after being confronted, I think they do a good job!

Parking lot attendants could perform just as well. The article, like most others, does mention "acting on a tip". The only work done here is collecting the guy at arrival or upon departure or tracking them down after Interpol interventions. Same goes for most known and wanted criminals like Karr, pedophiles, etc.

well. now we know, another one... bangkok hilton... and the story goes on..

That's right and he'll probably be released early to serve the remaining years in his home country.....then he'll write a winy book and get rich selling it at all the bookazines

well. now we know, another one... bangkok hilton... and the story goes on..

That's right and he'll probably be released early to serve the remaining years in his home country.....then he'll write a winy book and get rich selling it at all the bookazines

well i wont be buying it

Typical forum responses in advance of the trial.

The chap might have swallowed the pellets thinking they were some exotic S.American fruit or he may have knowingly swallowed the cocaine but had been coerced into doing so through duress............

Anyway, cocaine use is hardly immoral or that particularly nasty. Should be a misdemeanour offence in my opinion but doubtless there are those who will equate it to kiddy fiddling and stealing from the blind etc.etc....

doubtless there are those who will equate it to kiddy fiddling and stealing from the blind etc.etc....

Doubtless. Hope he gets a long, long sentence.

will they never learn ,will be a very old man before he see the light of a free day ........

I know, absolutely unbelievable that people risk so much for this

This guy would not have been able to eat or drink the whole period on the plane would he - a known giveaway for smugglers

I never thought of that. Do you think that Air Crew look out for this type of thing and then report it?

I had heard that they do - that staff are told to watch for this on certain routes - anyone know for sure?

Pretty sure I read they let the digs on certain planes to sniff the seats too so they can catch people before they get their bags and away but have no idea if that is true either.

I've heard that air crew do keep an eye out for exactly this kind of behavior. Perhaps where the "tip" came from.

I should be ok then, as i eat everything they put in front of me and drink more than they offer me

Same here - and if in Biz class i am at the champagne AND orange juice before take off too!

Sao Paolo - BKK - USM... a long long trip for carrying drugs in your body...

I was thinking the exact same - my pal at work just went Singapore - Sao Paulo for business - very legal before we get any smartarse comments from others

He flew Singapore to FRA - to Sao Paulo I think it was - a bloody long duration all told.

This guy would not have been able to eat or drink the whole period on the plane would he - a known giveaway for smugglers

On the occasions I've had a seriously upset stomach I've taken some pills and consequently found no need to sit on the throne for several days in spite of eating regularly

Couldn't this foolish Frenchman have done the same thing thereby evading suspicious glances?

I also have done the flight back to Europe on at least two occasions in memory where i never went to the carsy once - dehydrated and just did not need to go

I still ate some things though and drank some fluids - the silly French fella could do neither for fear of it interfering with the packets I assume.

The route as well is not so obviousbut my bet is he was grassed up - ther are probably two others that got through with their gear and he was thrown to the wolves.

Like someone else said - why did they not follow him to his connection - its not as though he was in busy and hectic Bangkok - he was on a smallish island. Where was he going to poo them out - at his hotel then meet the connection or go to the connections place and poo out there (sorry for being graphic)