Innocent Thai Women

[JoeThePoster]

Drug gangs prey on innocent women seeking work abroad

The capture of two gang members is the tip of the iceberg

Bangkok Post

Published: 16/02/2009 at 12:00 AM

The arrest of two Thai members of a drug gang that tricks Thai women into becoming drug couriers is just the first step in a clampdown on a West Africa-based drug trafficking network.

Narcotics Suppression Bureau chief Wuthi Liptapanlop views the case in which he and his investigative team spent nine months as only a half measure of success.

Read article here

[Scott]

There as guilty as sin.

I get so tired of the double standard. If it's a guy--he's stupid, guilty, should be hung. If it's a woman, she's been duped, forced and should be freed.

[samuibeachcomber]

There as guilty as sin.

I get so tired of the double standard. If it's a guy--he's stupid, guilty, should be hung. If it's a woman, she's been duped, forced and should be freed.

the article did say they had been lured to places like india for housekeeping type work only to find there wer n't any,then pressured into carrying drugs,if that is true then you have to feel compassion for defenseless women out of their own environment.

[Scott]

So, let's see....they were lured out of the lucrative flesh trade (Nana and Patpong) to become housemaids in India, a country and people pretty much completely disliked by Thais.

It's greed, pure and simple, and they aren't innocent victims. Whether one believes the sentences imposed for drug smuggling/trafficking are proper or not is one thing, but whatever the punishment it is, let's have it meeted out fairly to both groups.

Valuable police resources are being used in 'assisting' these women, but they can't come up with anything. REASON: Guilty.

[samuibeachcomber]

So, let's see....they were lured out of the lucrative flesh trade (Nana and Patpong) to become housemaids in India, a country and people pretty much completely disliked by Thais.

It's greed, pure and simple, and they aren't innocent victims. Whether one believes the sentences imposed for drug smuggling/trafficking are proper or not is one thing, but whatever the punishment it is, let's have it meeted out fairly to both groups.

Valuable police resources are being used in 'assisting' these women, but they can't come up with anything. REASON: Guilty.

yeah good point about nana and patpong,i forgot about that,why indeed why would they leave to become housemaids.

[oevna]

So, let's see....they were lured out of the lucrative flesh trade (Nana and Patpong) to become housemaids in India, a country and people pretty much completely disliked by Thais.

It's greed, pure and simple, and they aren't innocent victims. Whether one believes the sentences imposed for drug smuggling/trafficking are proper or not is one thing, but whatever the punishment it is, let's have it meeted out fairly to both groups.

Valuable police resources are being used in 'assisting' these women, but they can't come up with anything. REASON: Guilty.

yeah good point about nana and patpong,i forgot about that,why indeed why would they leave to become housemaids.

We don't really know anything about them. We don't know how old they are, whether or not they are bargirls or work in some other capacity in those areas, or what they were told about their new jobs abroad. I'm glad Scott isn't a judge or a juror deciding my fate, because he is jumping to conclusions too quickly. It's clear there is a lot more to this story than the article states.

What confuses me is how the article states that the two women who were recruiting the couriers were caught with small amounts of drugs on them, but then goes on to say that the drugs are not kept in Thailand:

Labelling it as an "astonishing case", Pol Lt-Gen Wuthi said the gang's activities were not easily monitored or traced in Thailand because the drugs are not kept here. As a result, many women have been lured to work with the gang without the police being aware.

[a2396]

There as guilty as sin.

I get so tired of the double standard. If it's a guy--he's stupid, guilty, should be hung. If it's a woman, she's been duped, forced and should be freed.

Men are not so vunerable & easily intimidated as women.

[yabaaaa]

So, let's see....they were lured out of the lucrative flesh trade (Nana and Patpong) to become housemaids in India, a country and people pretty much completely disliked by Thais.

It's greed, pure and simple, and they aren't innocent victims. Whether one believes the sentences imposed for drug smuggling/trafficking are proper or not is one thing, but whatever the punishment it is, let's have it meeted out fairly to both groups.

Valuable police resources are being used in 'assisting' these women, but they can't come up with anything. REASON: Guilty.

I dont think so, I know a few Thai women who arent "flesh trade" who ar always looking to work abroad and fearful of being used in MANY ways. They look for a job in Dubai etc etc

So imagine your in a foreign country a guy says to you carry this or Ill cut your throat, of course a s a man you might put up a fight but a 5 stone Thai woman alone in a strange land?? Some people will say no some arent strong enough for fear.

[Scott]

Yes, let's imagine it.

All they want to do is go home. So, they walk into the airport and when they approach security they say "See that big black man (West African)...well, he put drugs in my bag and is trying to make me take them to China."

They get to go home. He goes to jail.

Of course, they don't get that big money they were promised.

Oh, and come on...they think they are swallowing gold to smuggle in without paying taxes. They don't know the difference between heroin and gold--anyone from Nana and Patpong sure does.

I have no problem with people being willing to give them the benefit of the doubt, it's just that men--including the young Australian man recently arrested at the airport--don't usually get the benefit of the doubt.

[yabaaaa]

No I would think its more likely they will lock them both up not believing her or that he "The big black African" will get her later in her own country or some member of her family children etc.

[henryalleman]

A typical Thai double standard again. Now that its Thai women who are supposedly lure into the drug smuggling the police is very concerned and find way's to help this women. But when its concerned foreign girls like the 2 British ones a few years ago or the Aussie girl before that, they did not even consider this option for one second.

[Scott]

I doubt that a Western African man would have much luck or much connection with anyone who would harm the family.

If a mule identifies the higher ups, they will suffer a much lighter sentence, if any.

At a minimum, it sure beats a death sentence.

[yabaaaa]

Yes Scott but its not about what "you " think its about what a woman alone in a strange country will think with probably no experience in any of this type of thing.

When my wife first came to the UK a fe w years ago her then boss said he would call her everyday from Thailand just incase I was going to kidnap her and turn her into a prostitute.

I did but thats another story....................... nah just kidding.

[oevna]

Guys, I think some of you are mixing up the two women who were arrested for being the recruiters with the 68 women who were conned into the job of courier (58 arrested in China and 10 in India).

The two women pictured in the article (and below) are the recruiters who were involved in swindling the girls into this scam. I don't think there is any question that they are guilty, and they are in a lot of trouble right now.

The girls that they recruited were fooled into thinking that they would be getting legitimate employment abroad. With the information that we have from the article, we can conclude that they are naïve at most. But we need more evidence before concluding that they are complicit in the drug trafficking.

This is not the same as the guys who were caught in Australia, who knew what they were getting into from the start, and were foolish enough to go through with it.

Edited February 18, 2009 by oevna

[daveh]

I agree. There's a show on the National Geographic Channel called "Locked up abroad". Most of them that I've seen were people being greedy agreeing to smuggle drugs and in one case gold into another country. Many of them claim they were desperate for money and couldn't return home without doing it. Others admit to agreeing to do it because it was easy money.

[JoeThePoster]

An interesting article here suggests that the route is actually the reverse of that claimed in the Bkk Post story. China and India being potential markets for drugs produced in SE Asia.