Foreign Criminals- Are They Really So Powerful

[david08see]

I have always been very interested in human rights and in particular those of prisoners/ prison reform/ laws/policys, etc.

Recently I started getting involved in prisoners rights here in thailand.

One case in particular was very interesting.

What has taken me by suprise is the power some of these naughty fellows have ( many of them british but this may be one sided as I was dealing with mainly british prisoners) and the blatent way they swagger about this town.

I was warned off one gentlemans case despite it being obvious for anyone to see that there were holes in it. Because it may " upset" someone.

I assumed it was a local, I was wrong, it was , or so it seems a gent from my own green and pleasant land!

I was warned off by both officials and then others I presume from his camp.

Is it really that dangerous to try and bring some nasty people to justice here? Are they that well protected?

Are the foreign crooks really that powerful? What is their major way of making moneys? ( all drugs I guess)

Should we just leave it? ( something very difficult to do surely)

Any suggestions please? ( sensible ones please- last time I posted my thread desended into childish pro- drugs, anti- drugs childish name calling bash )

Thanking you

[bkkjames]

I have always been very interested in human rights and in particular those of prisoners/ prison reform/ laws/policys, etc.

Recently I started getting involved in prisoners rights here in thailand.

One case in particular was very interesting.

What has taken me by suprise is the power some of these naughty fellows have ( many of them british but this may be one sided as I was dealing with mainly british prisoners) and the blatent way they swagger about this town.

I was warned off one gentlemans case despite it being obvious for anyone to see that there were holes in it. Because it may " upset" someone.

I assumed it was a local, I was wrong, it was , or so it seems a gent from my own green and pleasant land!

I was warned off by both officials and then others I presume from his camp.

Is it really that dangerous to try and bring some nasty people to justice here? Are they that well protected?

Are the foreign crooks really that powerful? What is their major way of making moneys? ( all drugs I guess)

Should we just leave it? ( something very difficult to do surely)

Any suggestions please? ( sensible ones please- last time I posted my thread desended into childish pro- drugs, anti- drugs childish name calling bash )

Thanking you

You haven't been in Asia long? Advice, head their advice.

[onnut]

yeah mate. if you are told to leave something alone. do it. just dont get involved.

[Maizefarmer]

I have always been very interested in human rights and in particular those of prisoners/ prison reform/ laws/policys, etc.

Recently I started getting involved in prisoners rights here in thailand.

One case in particular was very interesting.

What has taken me by suprise is the power some of these naughty fellows have ( many of them british but this may be one sided as I was dealing with mainly british prisoners) and the blatent way they swagger about this town.

I was warned off one gentlemans case despite it being obvious for anyone to see that there were holes in it. Because it may " upset" someone.

I assumed it was a local, I was wrong, it was , or so it seems a gent from my own green and pleasant land!

I was warned off by both officials and then others I presume from his camp.

Is it really that dangerous to try and bring some nasty people to justice here? Are they that well protected?

Are the foreign crooks really that powerful? What is their major way of making moneys? ( all drugs I guess)

Should we just leave it? ( something very difficult to do surely)

Any suggestions please? ( sensible ones please- last time I posted my thread desended into childish pro- drugs, anti- drugs childish name calling bash )

Thanking you

Drugs has to be on the list of top 3 - doesn't it (?) - and drug smuggling has always been a violent business (because of the judicial consequences and sums of money involved).

But, drug dealer or money launderer, no crook worth half his salt wants to attract attention to himself and most do their utmost to avoid conflicts.

Something else that is attracting more and more money is counterfeiting of brandname goods/copy right and trde maek violations - and the point is, the sums of money are comparable but with no-where near the consequences.

Take Viagra for example: the active ingredient comes from India or China. Its not a controlled drug. Off the top of my head a kg costs something around $10k. Turning it into counterfeit Viagra pills takes no more than a induction heater (to heat the foil sealing to the plastic strips), an off-set printer to print up the boxes, a pill press/mould (scoured with the trademark), and the inert ingreideints to mix with the active ingriendient. It can be done in a backroom or garage with an investment of no more than $20 000.

What will that $10k of active ingriedent convert to on the market as counterfiet Viagra tablets? - somewhere between $700K and $1 million - if not more.

And the consequences if caught in Thailand?

A fine running into baht 10's of Thousands and maybe, just maybe a couple years in prison (but unlikely if the defense is up to scratch).

Counterfeiting is big business in Thailand - and to give you an idea of just how "powerful" some of the folk involved in it are, a few years back the state tobacco/cig producers commisioned an investigation into the origin of counterfieted Thai fags. When they found out who was behind it, they closed the investigation down and refused to prosecute. It went up to Ministerial level!

[MrHammer]

Is it really that dangerous to try and bring some nasty people to justice here? Are they that well protected?

Are the foreign crooks really that powerful? What is their major way of making moneys? ( all drugs I guess)

Should we just leave it? ( something very difficult to do surely)

Any suggestions please? ( sensible ones please- last time I posted my thread desended into childish pro- drugs, anti- drugs childish name calling bash )

Thanking you

Even if its tempting to go vigilante I would lay off the 'crooks'.

If they're doing any kind of 'business' that make serious money you can be sure they have police protection.

The best known example is probably Koh Samui a few years back where some brit and scandinavian biker\mafia types had pretty much taken over the entire island making money of extortion, drugs and real estate scamming. These guys had the biggest houses on the entire island and were only brought to court from a special bangkok task force. I would think especially local police outside bangkok can be very easily bought off considering they have to buy their guns and equipment themselves = buy the stuff for a new policeman and you 'own' him. Goes well with the tradition of master and servant in Thailand.

So yeah, dont try to bring these guys in yourself!

[Changkok]

I have always been very interested in human rights and in particular those of prisoners/ prison reform/ laws/policys, etc.

Recently I started getting involved in prisoners rights here in thailand.

One case in particular was very interesting.

What has taken me by suprise is the power some of these naughty fellows have ( many of them british but this may be one sided as I was dealing with mainly british prisoners) and the blatent way they swagger about this town.

I was warned off one gentlemans case despite it being obvious for anyone to see that there were holes in it. Because it may " upset" someone.

I assumed it was a local, I was wrong, it was , or so it seems a gent from my own green and pleasant land!

I was warned off by both officials and then others I presume from his camp.

Is it really that dangerous to try and bring some nasty people to justice here? Are they that well protected?

Are the foreign crooks really that powerful? What is their major way of making moneys? ( all drugs I guess)

Should we just leave it? ( something very difficult to do surely)

Any suggestions please? ( sensible ones please- last time I posted my thread desended into childish pro- drugs, anti- drugs childish name calling bash )

Thanking you

So your a lawyer and your in thailand? What the fuc_k are you going on about? are you really that stupid or just a troll?

[Changkok]

Is it really that dangerous to try and bring some nasty people to justice here? Are they that well protected?

Are the foreign crooks really that powerful? What is their major way of making moneys? ( all drugs I guess)

Should we just leave it? ( something very difficult to do surely)

Any suggestions please? ( sensible ones please- last time I posted my thread desended into childish pro- drugs, anti- drugs childish name calling bash )

Thanking you

Even if its tempting to go vigilante I would lay off the 'crooks'.

If they're doing any kind of 'business' that make serious money you can be sure they have police protection.

The best known example is probably Koh Samui a few years back where some brit and scandinavian biker\mafia types had pretty much taken over the entire island making money of extortion, drugs and real estate scamming. These guys had the biggest houses on the entire island and were only brought to court from a special bangkok task force. I would think especially local police outside bangkok can be very easily bought off considering they have to buy their guns and equipment themselves = buy the stuff for a new policeman and you 'own' him. Goes well with the tradition of master and servant in Thailand.

So yeah, dont try to bring these guys in yourself!

LOL, obviously you havent a clue.

[JimsKnight]

Pattaya & the Islands are the few places where you get semi-Mr Bigs and the farang who likes to think they are Mr Big.

Places that are fairly small and concentrated enough for them to thrive off other farangs like parasites and hand out the goodies is key with the whole scene.

Everywhere else in Thailand tends to the boozy bullshitters and plastic gangsters who have a bob or two and try re-inventing themselves.

I've only known one 'player' and that was a crazy, but strangely likeable Norwegian chap who was part of biker gang back in Norway.

Yes the young impressionable lads and lasses are prime targets for these folks. According to his confident (who I worked and learned of this from) there were some who he'd set up as decoy mules and were doing time in the Hilton as a result of this. So it does go on.

According to the Norwegian fella he actually did stress that the Russians in Pattaya were the nastiest ones to be wary of. He in fact claimed to of fled from them in Pattaya because they tried squeezing him for serious money.

It's not a world you want to get mixed up in nor is it worth getting mixed up in. The glamour is like a thin layer of ice above freezing waters.

The people who wind up in the brown stuff tend to of done a deal with the devil so to speak and the 'small print' gets them in the end more often than not.

Indeed the Mr Bigs tend to be end up there too, one way or another anyway so let go of the hatchet man. Thailand is a lot more fun not worrying about them.

[MrHammer]

Is it really that dangerous to try and bring some nasty people to justice here? Are they that well protected?

Are the foreign crooks really that powerful? What is their major way of making moneys? ( all drugs I guess)

Should we just leave it? ( something very difficult to do surely)

Any suggestions please? ( sensible ones please- last time I posted my thread desended into childish pro- drugs, anti- drugs childish name calling bash )

Thanking you

Even if its tempting to go vigilante I would lay off the 'crooks'.

If they're doing any kind of 'business' that make serious money you can be sure they have police protection.

The best known example is probably Koh Samui a few years back where some brit and scandinavian biker\mafia types had pretty much taken over the entire island making money of extortion, drugs and real estate scamming. These guys had the biggest houses on the entire island and were only brought to court from a special bangkok task force. I would think especially local police outside bangkok can be very easily bought off considering they have to buy their guns and equipment themselves = buy the stuff for a new policeman and you 'own' him. Goes well with the tradition of master and servant in Thailand.

So yeah, dont try to bring these guys in yourself!

LOL, obviously you havent a clue.

Oh yeah why not? It was all over the news. Originally they were indicted for money laundry, extortion and scamming for 10-20 mio pounds. Ive met one of the guys some years ago, he barerely escaped before the hammer came down.

[Dakhar]

The glamour is like a thin layer of ice above freezing waters.

Glamour in Thailand, perks like free TUK TUK rides and crack hoe's

I can do without the glamour

[womble]

Is it really that dangerous to try and bring some nasty people to justice here? Are they that well protected?

Are the foreign crooks really that powerful? What is their major way of making moneys? ( all drugs I guess)

Should we just leave it? ( something very difficult to do surely)

Any suggestions please? ( sensible ones please- last time I posted my thread desended into childish pro- drugs, anti- drugs childish name calling bash )

Thanking you

Even if its tempting to go vigilante I would lay off the 'crooks'.

If they're doing any kind of 'business' that make serious money you can be sure they have police protection.

The best known example is probably Koh Samui a few years back where some brit and scandinavian biker\mafia types had pretty much taken over the entire island making money of extortion, drugs and real estate scamming. These guys had the biggest houses on the entire island and were only brought to court from a special bangkok task force. I would think especially local police outside bangkok can be very easily bought off considering they have to buy their guns and equipment themselves = buy the stuff for a new policeman and you 'own' him. Goes well with the tradition of master and servant in Thailand.

So yeah, dont try to bring these guys in yourself!

what a load of rubbish.............

[werbs]

Is it really that dangerous to try and bring some nasty people to justice here? Are they that well protected?

Are the foreign crooks really that powerful? What is their major way of making moneys? ( all drugs I guess)

Should we just leave it? ( something very difficult to do surely)

Any suggestions please? ( sensible ones please- last time I posted my thread desended into childish pro- drugs, anti- drugs childish name calling bash )

Thanking you

Even if its tempting to go vigilante I would lay off the 'crooks'.

If they're doing any kind of 'business' that make serious money you can be sure they have police protection.

The best known example is probably Koh Samui a few years back where some brit and scandinavian biker\mafia types had pretty much taken over the entire island making money of extortion, drugs and real estate scamming. These guys had the biggest houses on the entire island and were only brought to court from a special bangkok task force. I would think especially local police outside bangkok can be very easily bought off considering they have to buy their guns and equipment themselves = buy the stuff for a new policeman and you 'own' him. Goes well with the tradition of master and servant in Thailand.

So yeah, dont try to bring these guys in yourself!

LOL, obviously you havent a clue.

feel free to explain

[MrHammer]

100 DSI, police officers raid Koh Samui, arrest Briton

Koh Samui, Surat Thani: -- A team of 100 officers from the Crime Suppression Division, Anti-Money Laundering Office and Department of Investigation raided this tourist destination island Tuesday morning and arrested a Briton and three Thais.

The Briton, Peter Watkinjones, 40, was accused of leading a multinational mafia gang which bribed land officials to gain access to public land on the island for sale to foreigners.

The officers, divided into small teams, raided ten spots to try to arrest seven members of the so-called Bandidos gang.

DSI spokesman Pol Col Dussadee Arayawutthi said the three Thai men were identified as Pramual Somwong, a land official, and two ordinary people - Samroeng Buanak and Prateep Muangkaew.

He said a Briton and two Danish men were still elusive.

He said the seven were suspected of using influence to pressure local businesses and people to sell business and land to them and they paid bribe to land officials to use land documents elsewhere to forge ownership of public land on the island and sold them to foreigners at steep prices.

Dussadee said the sale contracts were undervalued as the buyers paid the rest of the money to the gang abroad.

--The Nation 2006-07-18