Briton Held In Thai Drugs Swoop

[Boater]

POLICE in Thailand have arrested a man from Greater Manchester on suspicion of drug dealing.

David Griffin, 49, could face up to 10 years in jail if he is convicted.

Mr Griffin, thought to be from Bury, was paraded before cameras at a police station on the tourist island of Phuket with drugs and money laid out on a table in front of him.

Police said they found ten sealed plastic bags of meta-amphetamine, 11 bags of cocaine and some marijuana in a car at the resort of Patong.

They also found 22,400 baht (£450) in cash and drug paraphenalia.

Officers said that Mr Griffin was arrested in the car while he attempted to sell drugs in the street to holidaymakers leaving bars and nightclubs in the popular resort.

But speaking from his police cell, Mr Griffin told reporters that the drugs found in the car did not belong to him, apart from a small quantity of marijuana which he said he smokes to relieve pain.

"It's nonsense", he said.

Mr Griffin said that he had been living in Thailand for four years, mostly in Phuket, and worked in property.

He also claimed he had been beaten by police while in custody. "I was kicked twice by the police and also beaten in the head," he said.

Police Captain Sutham Rattanasawangwong, who is in charge of the case, said Mr Griffin could face a prison sentence of between five and 10 years if found guilty.

Police in Phuket recently launched an anti-drugs crackdown in an effort the clean up the popular holiday island. in southern Thailand.

Source - http://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/new...hai_drugs_swoop_

[Boater]

Anyone know what company he worked for , as the guy rings a bell but i cannot think where i know him from ( but i think he owned a property company along nanai rd )

[steelepulse]

Man is the economy that bad that property agents need to flog chemicals to survive?  Genius.

[geriatrickid]

How dumb can you be to be trying to sell to passerby trade?

As stated above, property trade must be in bad shape with no time share suckers around.

[dynabob]

somethings never change thai police don't like competition

[seank]

Guilty until proven innocent!

[samuibeachcomber]

the fact that the man has lived in thailand for 4 years and has been involved in the property business tells me i smell a rat.

maybe he's up set someone and a plant has been made,otherwise yes maybe on hard times and he's just dumb.

[Ping]

It wasn't a rat you smelt, it was a roach...

[LivinLOS]

Other news I saw said he was stopped on the chern talay / surin road ?? Stopped at a roadblock by Kamala police..

Also note he had meta amphetamine !!!

[LivinLOS]

http://thainews.prd.go.th/newsenglish/prev...php?news_id=949

[CroBiker]

49 years old only? Looks like 60.

[thaiwanderer]

always seems to be 'random' car searches - last one being that racing driving bloke

i have never seen a farangs car be searched at any of the checks on the island

[george]

Brit charged with drug dealing

KAMALA, PHUKET: -- A British man faces the prospect of a lifetime in jail after being caught at a Kamala Police checkpoint with cocaine, ya ice (crystal methamphetamine) and marijuana on Wednesday.

David Kevin Griffin, 49, was driving toward Patong when he was stopped by Kamala Police officers at around 1:45 am at the checkpoint in Nanok Village.

Police say they searched Griffin and found a total of 16.48 grams of cocaine divided into 11 sealable plastic bags in his wallet, together with 22,470 baht in cash.

Stashed in a mobile phone case on the front passenger seat they discovered 10 bags of ya ice, weighing a total of 16.31 grams, as well as a bag containing around three grams of marijuana stashed in a fanny pack, police said.

Four empty re-sealable zipper storage bags and equipment for taking yah ice were in a black bag with some clothes on the back seat, they added.

Police said they later searched Mr Griffin’s house in Tambon Thepkrassatri and found 8.25 grams of dried marijuana, 29.96 grams of marijuana resin, and eight plastic bags in a wooden box in a cupboard.

The heavy-set Mr Griffin barely raised his head as details of the arrest were made public at a press conference in front of Phuket Provincial Police Station on February 4.

The conference was led by Phuket Governor Preecha Ruangjan, Phuket Provincial Police Commander Apirak Hongtong, and Pol Lt Col Siriwat Intrayim of Kamala Police, the duty officer at Kamala police station at the time of Griffin’s arrest.

Mr Griffin confessed to charges of possession of a Class 5 drug (marijuana).

More seriously, he is being charged with possession of two Class 1 drugs (cocaine and yah ice) with intent to supply. If found guilty, he could be sentenced to five years to life in jail and fined 50,000 baht.

A report in the Manchester Evening News said Mr Griffen was a resident of Greater Manchester and had been living in Phuket for four years, working in the property industry at the time of his arrest.

-- Phuket Gazette 2009-02-06

[Ping]

Anyone who deals in illicit drugs deserves all they get - and they'll sure get it if convicted in Thailand. No sympathy.

[dotcom]

Life sounds way better than 10 years. Hang em.

[Syl]

the fact that the man has lived in thailand for 4 years and has been involved in the property business tells me i smell a rat.

maybe he's up set someone and a plant has been made,otherwise yes maybe on hard times and he's just dumb.

Hard times! Wouldn't of thought so by the size of him. Anyway I bet he will be nice & thin when he gets out of jail. If he ever gets out!

Why is it when a farang gets arrested in Thailand most people say he has been stitched up?

Syl.

Cant find my classes!

Edited February 6, 2009 by Syl

[thaiwanderer]

Why is it when a farang gets arrested in Thailand most people say he has been stitched up?

experience

[LivinLOS]

49 years old only? Looks like 60.

To be fair I doubt you would look your best on an ice comedown, after being up all night, in a police cell, having your life flush down the pan in front of your eyes.

[geriatrickid]

I don't know what's more unsettling;

- the bouncy newslady reading the story or,

- the cop that shoves the accused's head to provide a better photo op, or

- the expression on the accused's face or,

- the strong likeliood that he had "ecstasy" and cocaine on him.

Even if the some of the drugs were a plant, he admitted to the weed, which is sufficient to see his car seized, his visa revoked and a heap of legal grief.

I have a bad feeling he will be pressured to snitch on his customers in order to have an easier time of it. Desperate people will name names when it comes to their own skins.

[Boater]

i have never seen a farangs car be searched at any of the checks on the island

very true ... especially an old man !!

mabe they where informed?

[taxexile]

mabe they where informed?

look at his photo.

he's got shifty eyes.

guilty as charged.

next case please.

[keestha]

Innocent until proven guilty. Always the same hang em high reactions when farangs are arrested accused of crimes such as drug dealing or sexual molestation of minors or whatever.

Till now all that is proven, is the small amount of narcotics the guy has confessed to knowingly possessing.

Maybe you expats are too much influenced by the Thai way of publishing full names and photos of people who are only being suspected of having committed a crime.

[Ping]

You'll note I said 'if convicted', but I agree with you about this habit of putting suspects on show - shouldn't happen.

There are enough locals in the drug trade without idiots coming in from overseas and joining the market - you'd think they'd pick somewhere else, with the penalties and jail conditions being so severe in LOS. Notwithstanding, in my book, for the misery these 'people' bring to others, jail is too good for them - but having said that, there is a wealth of coverage on this same topic in older threads, so we are going over old ground (again)...

[geriatrickid]

Ahhh but rehashing the same thing over and over is what elderly folks do. My father still tells the same stories. If I have to put up with it, so should you.

I would however be curious to know additional details as to what property investment he was involved in.

1. Either he was set up by business partners, which means the development should be avoided, or if he was really selling,

2. Then, the development must be in trouble.

As an aside, is it just me, or does anyone else find it odd that an older fellow would still be using drugs? No offense to the hippie era people, but most people grow out of weed by their mid 20's and the long time coke/Ex users end up like Gary Busey or Jeff Conaway as patients drooling and slurring on the Dr. Drew rehab TV show.

Edited February 7, 2009 by geriatrickid

[neverdie]

49 years old only? Looks like 60.

Good point Cro,

Having dealt with godzillians of JUNKIES over the years, you would be surprised how many of them have aged so quickly, its not uncommon to find someone thats only late 20ies but looks 40 something.

I'm always amused by people in the drug trade that stand there looking like trash (health wise) & they will engage you how drugs have no adverse effects.

I would also have to agree with PING, we're treading the same old thing again and again with these POSTS.

[canadianmonkey]

still amazes me.. So many other poor countries were you can take/sell drugs with much less risk..

Why do these idiots come to thailand..

[fiddlehead]

You are all (most anyway) assuming he's guilty.

What if he's not?

[sbk]

mabe they where informed?

look at his photo.

he's got shifty eyes.

guilty as charged.

next case please.

tax.you kill me sometimes

In my experience (and living on the party island of Thailand, I've met quite a few) most of the people arrested for drugs did actually have drugs. Not always, but generally speaking, yes.

Its amazing to me how many people want to take what appears to be the easy road to getting money.

[neverdie]

Normally, wheres there smoke theres fire!

Of course hes guilty. Now execute him & lets make way on this forum for the next guilty person.

[grandpops]

Innocent until proven guilty. Always the same hang em high reactions when farangs are arrested accused of crimes such as drug dealing or sexual molestation of minors or whatever.

Till now all that is proven, is the small amount of narcotics the guy has confessed to knowingly possessing.

Maybe you expats are too much influenced by the Thai way of publishing full names and photos of people who are only being suspected of having committed a crime.

Maybe next time you give us the benefit of your legal knowledge you will get it right first.

Its "presumed" innocent until proven guilty. His innocence or guilt is not at any stage altered by a trial, whether by media, TV or a court.

I love the thai way of doing this. Parade him with all the shit found on him and record his instant excuse. Not like in the UK where he would have had a month with a legal aid lawyer sorting out his story, costing the tax payers thousands and then getting out with an apology from the police and issuing threats to sue them if they ever stop him again.

If he dosnt like it he can always fk off.... oh, sorry he can't can he!

Marijuana for his pain!

Edited February 7, 2009 by grandpops