Filipina Arrested At Suvarnabhumi With 3.2kg Of Cocaine

[YanTree]

All you guys saying she is desperate or stupid have no idea how much gets through. Had she not been ratted out she likely doesn't get busted. I'll bet 90%+ of shipments make it through undetected and 75%+ of people busted just lose the drugs and a bribe to the cops.

I won't be running coke anytime soon but I can easily see the risk/reward being attractive to a personal with titanium testicles.

Don't be so naive, you cant always bribe your way out of things in Thailand. If the police accepted bribes all the time then the prisons would not be overcrowded as they are now.

That is why I said 75%+ of the time you can bribe your way out. The other 25% or less you cannot.

And you are being naive if you think there is any other reason for many of those people being in prison other than the fact that they could not afford to bribe the cops.

[NanaFoods]

Wow. That sounds like a story from "Banged up Abroad" show.

[ericthai]

All you guys saying she is desperate or stupid have no idea how much gets through. Had she not been ratted out she likely doesn't get busted. I'll bet 90%+ of shipments make it through undetected and 75%+ of people busted just lose the drugs and a bribe to the cops.

I won't be running coke anytime soon but I can easily see the risk/reward being attractive to a personal with titanium testicles.

Don't be so naive, you cant always bribe your way out of things in Thailand. If the police accepted bribes all the time then the prisons would not be overcrowded as they are now.

Maybe they/she cannot afford the bribe!!

possible, but there have been some high profile cases where the police have stated they were offered a bribe and refused. So again you can not always bribe your way out just because this is Thailand.

[bwalker1973]

Usually they have 2 - 3 people on the same flight, and 1 will always be unlucky as the escape goat so the others get through to cause diversion at the airport. This is where the tip off has come from. One of the guys phones in anonymously. You can guarantee that over 1 million dollars worth got through on the same flight.

[smartiemarty]

Always amazes me that the "Tip Off" scam to let the big shipment through by ratting out the small shipment supposedly works....

Now if i was a customs guy i would just herd all the people off the "tipped off" flight into a secure area and search every single one and their luggage until i got ALL of the couriers...... or just get the drug dogs out and be super vigilant all day in the baggage area..

Not exactly rocket science is it.......

"course that doesn't address the corruption angle.....

[fenny99]

For once, I feel very sorry for that desperate lady and hope she gets leniancy. She was being used.

Why did the police just not track her to the bastards who used her and are the REAL criminals?

Havent you seen Layer cake. They let a load of mules go on but have 1 for the slaughter . WHO TIPPED THE POLICE OFF . How many more people on the flight had druggs . While there looking for this poor desperate Phillipeno . Probably 3-5- more mules went through.

[Capealava]

She's basically thrown her life away for 1,000 dollars. She must be very stupid or very desperate.

It is the hysteria concerning Drugs and the Governments view will destroy her life. The war on drugs will never be won. She is just one of many caught in the trap of intolerance and idiocy. If you want to read a very good book concerning Drugs the laws and the powers that be -read Ceremonial Chemistry Thomas Szasz

This girl is just trying to survive just as the bargirls you may visit in Patpong. Your comments are not though out and mislead.

http://books.google.com/books?id=C9KRwndkE...;q=&f=false

[dustybooky]

I don't buy the decoy thing, not in this case.

Who wants to put up 7 pounds of pure snow as a decoy?

Someone also mentioned why don't they just tag her and follow her to destination.

Maybe they would but they'd have to 1- know for sure she's got it; 2-where she's going an; 3-wire the bags, put in a device.

The reason that's not being done is either that theydon't have preventive means (intelligence) to know what these people are doing ahead of time and/or they don't want to know. Having been here a while my guess is that its the former. Crime prevention ain't big here, it's less work to just clean up the mess or at least the part of the mess that's showing

[djlest]

hmmmmmm... interesting

I guess having a criminal rap in Thailand, or just for even being African it must pose certain risks such as:

Thai police are not stupid, or at least not totally stupid when it comes to lining their own pockets.

They will have pinched informers from soi 3 and soi 5 who are in on the deal, and want to buy a get out of jail card and extended illegal stay.

Thai police just like those retards back home, or any others have to pinch one big bust per month or so, just to look good and keep them climbing.

In return they keep the informers (Africans) in the country and doing business in soi3 and 5. (busting a gram of cola in 7/11 means nothing compared to 3 kilos)

You can be sure the informers are well looked after to ensure the snitches stay on the books and under control.

Why work harder than they have to?

But what will the Investing Africans get out of it all?

The underdogs fly over to Manilla for some easy meat, play a few games, get them hooked and wired - have a hiperty hop week with some Philly bar girls.

promise them a better life in Thailand with 1000 dollars upfront and unlimited riches after. a new life so to speak!

i dunno of course - just guessing hypothetically...

Or i could be totally wrong and she has actually done this 10 times before and the Africans thought its time to delete her from the database of runners cos she was cutting too much off the top.

so many possibilities guys.. either way its a tragedy!

[crocodilexp]

The fact that "cops were tipped off" tells me they used her to take the fall so that many others carrying drugs would pass without fail. That is the typical decoy system used, and the cops are too freakin stupid to ever catch on. They probably let millions of dollars worth just slip through as while they were looking for this desperate Filipina...

Cops are not stupid. Most likely, the drug lords pay the cops well and occasionally tip them off about a few peons to keep the wheels of justice turning and the prisons full, police promotions rolling. In exchange, most of the business goes unimpeded, and the big shots are never caught (until they step on some bigger fellow's toes).

Minor dealers should not have any illusions about paying a bribe after they're caught and the arrest is made public. It might happen occasionally and for small quantities, but for bigger stuff, the proper connections are made and wheels are greased *before* any arrest takes place.

Edited March 24, 2010 by crocodilexp

[makescents]

When will these people learn?

When these silly powders become legal.

[colino]

While it's easy to say she tossed her life away, know that it's not uncommon for gangs / mafia, especially Asian and African, to force these young girls to do this. I have no idea her case, but I've read about many cases where they threaten to kill their famlies and so on. Very sad stuff.

The sad part is, every government knows about this, and the prisons around the world are full of poor women (and stupid ones) who have been caught doing this.

The fact that "cops were tipped off" tells me they used her to take the fall so that many others carrying drugs would pass without fail. That is the typical decoy system used, and the cops are too freakin stupid to ever catch on. They probably let millions of dollars worth just slip through as while they were looking for this desperate Filipina, who will now spend the rest of her life in prison, while the African gang she did this for will continue to gather off Soi 3 and sell their drugs without problems, and usually on overstay and here illegally. It's the same story with this type of African in every country. I'm not sure why the police here do not do sweeps of that area, as they do in Hong Kong, and deport those who are here illegally, as you can count on them being up to no good.

The police used to sweep Soi Africia (3/1) every couple of month then the raids suddenly stopped. For the past year they have spread unchecked up to Asoke where the drug trade florishes and any crime remains in plain view. Lower Sukhumvit rightly deserves it's title "Bangkok Sewer".

Yes, they used to exterminate the rats in the Sukh 3/1 nest quite often but there seems to be more of them than ever these days. Huay Khwang , Din Daeng and Petchburi Rd seem to have growing infestations as well.

Man with these guys taking over the soi's its only going to get worse , the drugs, fake documents. and scams will drag BKK down .

There needs to be a massive crack down and clear up of the area .kick em out and save the soi's just take a look at Spain or france they have a major problem with the Africains. Colino

[Sisaketmike]

She's basically thrown her life away for 1,000 dollars. She must be very stupid or very desperate.

The sad thing of the story is that the main guys are almost untouchable. Wouldn’t that have been a problem to let her through to see who’s gonna pick it up? Even with her knowledge, I’m pretty sure that she knows that she’ll end up in the Big Tiger…..

[Moonrakers]

She's basically thrown her life away for 1,000 dollars. She must be very stupid or very desperate.

It is the hysteria concerning Drugs and the Governments view will destroy her life. The war on drugs will never be won. She is just one of many caught in the trap of intolerance and idiocy. If you want to read a very good book concerning Drugs the laws and the powers that be -read Ceremonial Chemistry Thomas Szasz

This girl is just trying to survive just as the bargirls you may visit in Patpong. Your comments are not though out and mislead.

http://books.google.com/books?id=C9KRwndkE...;q=&f=false

You, and others might want to re-read what I wrote.

I clearly said that she must be either very stupid or very desperate.

[Lumumba]

hmmmmmm... interesting

I guess having a criminal rap in Thailand, or just for even being African it must pose certain risks such as:

Thai police are not stupid, or at least not totally stupid when it comes to lining their own pockets.

They will have pinched informers from soi 3 and soi 5 who are in on the deal, and want to buy a get out of jail card and extended illegal stay.

Thai police just like those retards back home, or any others have to pinch one big bust per month or so, just to look good and keep them climbing.

In return they keep the informers (Africans) in the country and doing business in soi3 and 5. (busting a gram of cola in 7/11 means nothing compared to 3 kilos)

You can be sure the informers are well looked after to ensure the snitches stay on the books and under control.

Why work harder than they have to?

But what will the Investing Africans get out of it all?

The underdogs fly over to Manilla for some easy meat, play a few games, get them hooked and wired - have a hiperty hop week with some Philly bar girls.

promise them a better life in Thailand with 1000 dollars upfront and unlimited riches after. a new life so to speak!

i dunno of course - just guessing hypothetically...

Or i could be totally wrong and she has actually done this 10 times before and the Africans thought its time to delete her from the database of runners cos she was cutting too much off the top.

so many possibilities guys.. either way its a tragedy!

You make a lot of sense with this post.

Not many will give up 7 pound of snow as a diversion.

could be a jealous mule that tipped her off, or her boss enemies, or her cup just runneth full.

Seriously, I still feel the drug police are the one that do the least amount of leg work.

Watching 'The Wire' HBO, will tell you their typical mindset. They know everything and everyone involved but just dont need the hassle, they just dont want to go into an endless battle, the minute you remove a corner man, his competition moves in. If you bounce the Africans on lower Sukhumvit the south Asians or the locals will move in, and sometimes the new tenants will require an entire force retraining.

[SPIKECM]

That is assuming that everyone arrested has the money to pay bribes. This is why Thai prisons are full of the under privilaged and poor. It would be difficult to bribe your way out of this I imagine, but the rich don't tend to smuggle drugs in suitcases. They tend instead to get desperate people to do the front line work and the poor are forever expendable in Thailand.

A tragic loss of this woman's freedom whatever.

All you guys saying she is desperate or stupid have no idea how much gets through. Had she not been ratted out she likely doesn't get busted. I'll bet 90%+ of shipments make it through undetected and 75%+ of people busted just lose the drugs and a bribe to the cops.

I won't be running coke anytime soon but I can easily see the risk/reward being attractive to a personal with titanium testicles.

Don't be so naive, you cant always bribe your way out of things in Thailand. If the police accepted bribes all the time then the prisons would not be overcrowded as they are now.

[Gigabyte]

I don't think that the people in jails in Thailand are the kind of persons who can afford to pay a bribe. I've never been there in a Thai jail, however I assume that the population there is from the lower layer of the society. People who can afford brides, but I might be wrong it's just assumption, should be able to pay their way out always. Unless it's a high-profile case and again I assume that the person can walk his/her way out once the dust is set.

All you guys saying she is desperate or stupid have no idea how much gets through. Had she not been ratted out she likely doesn't get busted. I'll bet 90%+ of shipments make it through undetected and 75%+ of people busted just lose the drugs and a bribe to the cops.

I won't be running coke anytime soon but I can easily see the risk/reward being attractive to a personal with titanium testicles.

Don't be so naive, you cant always bribe your way out of things in Thailand. If the police accepted bribes all the time then the prisons would not be overcrowded as they are now.

[stingray]

She's basically thrown her life away for 1,000 dollars. She must be very stupid or very desperate.

because like many asian woman, she was greedy. The 1'000 USD was mor important to her, than her life.

[jcartermad]

The question is how many other mules were on the same plane? Did they give up 3 kilos to get 3 or 4 other mules through? At $1000 walking street would have been a better option! Poor lass - life gone. Even she does not get a bullet in the back she will get 25 years plus in really horrible conditions. Some would say she deserves it...maybe but i feel it is the organising gangs that are the real issue. Without gangs mules would not exist. Bullet for the gang but hey their tracks are well covered. "there for the grace of god go you or I". We will never know what drives a poor girl in some tin shack in Manilla to risk all. Regards John

[gburns57au]

I find it amazing.......

Not a single post condemning her for what she is....a drug trafficker...If she was a male there would have been numerous posts calling for the death penalty or other horrible methods of punishment....

A drug trafficker is a drug trafficker and she admits she knew what she was carrying.....Male or female makes no difference.

3.2 kilos is not a small amount by any means.

BTW I dont believe the tip off to protect bigger fish theory.......the amount is too big for that

[SantiSuk]

I'm astonished how many TV members are interested in another everyday story about drug running. I clicked on it to post a 'why does TV bother posting this yawn-like material' expecting to see no responses. Obviously George or whoever posted knows the readership well.

I'm not trying to be holier than though or dis anyone - just expressing surprise. Then again I do myself post on the TV football threads which I am sure some of you find amazingly boring.

[bwalker1973]

I don't buy the decoy thing, not in this case.

Who wants to put up 7 pounds of pure snow as a decoy?

Someone also mentioned why don't they just tag her and follow her to destination.

Maybe they would but they'd have to 1- know for sure she's got it; 2-where she's going an; 3-wire the bags, put in a device.

The reason that's not being done is either that theydon't have preventive means (intelligence) to know what these people are doing ahead of time and/or they don't want to know. Having been here a while my guess is that its the former. Crime prevention ain't big here, it's less work to just clean up the mess or at least the part of the mess that's showing

Happens everyday in many countries including europe, there is even a banned video in Thailand called Broken Palace, which is based on a true story, including corrupt government officials in on the scam. If you have Vuze Torrent, then search within and download, it's an ok movie.

Even western foreigners do it to make money so they can stay in Thailand. They are the biggest confidence tricksters in the world. I know of 7 foreigners serving from 3 years to life around asia.

They have people employed all over picking up on desparate peoples needs, then fill em in. Giving em money and good times. So you can work it from there. Someone who has basically nothing on the last end of the whip will soon jump at a $1000 dollars.

Edited March 24, 2010 by bwalker1973

[Nelorie]

Some questions here: can law enforcement specialists here tell what % of smuggled drugs travel by air?

What % of the drugs transports by air are actually intercepted?

(Thai police acted on a tip-off)

The last question would be why the woman was not turned by the police to get her clients in flagranti?

I don't think it's possible to answer the first two questions. To do so you would have to know how much total traffic there really is. I don't think they know that. I'm quite sure the U.S Drug Enforcement Administration doesn't know that in the States.

As to your last point, there are a number of possible answers. A cynic would probably say the police don't want to arrest the kingpins, because they're getting paid large amounts of protection money. A really hard-core cynic would say it's because the kingpins are already known and are high ranking government officials. A slightly less cynical person might point out that there would be a risk that their prisoner might escape if they tried playing complicated games, and there is no guarantee her contact in Bangkok would be caught with evidence that would convict him/her. They have one person they can arrest, try, and convict; it's better not to be greedy.

Well, have you a bout the Australian case of the Bali Nine. Young people, one's father contact Australian and alerted them to stop his 19yr old son, and then the Australian Federal Police (like FBI) told Indonesia police. They now languish in prison awaiting either death sentences or 20 years to pass. The father, and others, are so angry, when all they had to do was let them continue to Australia and get picked up and detained, etc. in Australia. They got picked up at the exit at the airport. No death sentence in Australia. Now father is awaiting the death sentence for his son. In Australia, probably 10 years inside.

Final comment, none of the big kingpins got caught, and are probably still operating. The enorcement is so hopeless. Make it legal and tax it! It is a public health problem.

[drBouz]

this looks to me like one of the many similar stories - the "minnow" is caught, but "big fish" are still swimming around...

... was she desperat, greedy, or whatever?-no matter for me. if she gets her (very very hard punishment) -and if this is well covered with medias - this sends to another desperate persons a clear message: - "don't involve yourself at any kind of drug business".

drug business is if i can say "alive" because - no one is tryng (seriously) to stop this, there are allways customers that want to pay to "get high", and there are greedy criminal people who are willy to provide services for that money.

i think that i personaly would really rather die now -this moment, than to spend another 40(i'm 41) years in jail. -"no thanks"

[aussiejosh]

Some people have no choice, some people are stupid and see it as a quick way to make money, and some people are just opportunistic and dumb. Any of those doesn't change the fact that keeping this person in prison for a long time is simply going to cost the government money and doesn't help them catch the real traffickers.

Just another drug mule in the BKK hilton

[Lumumba]

Seems quite a fair amount of mind numbing substances are consumed in this country. From OTC drugs to very flammable brain roasting substances.

These mules and their bosses dont appear to be that smart either and sometimes I seriously doubt the sincerity of the law enforcements to put an end to it as it easily passes through several borders.

Hate so say this but you are wrong, their bosses are very smart. They use this girl as a decoy to allow a bigger shipment get in. This is a normal tactic used by gangs, they have a small shipment and a big shipment and then they give a tip to the police for the small shipment.

May be this was the main shipment, it did nt get through as well.

http://www.innnews.co.th/local.php?nid=217760

ตม.สงขลาจับชาวไนจีเรีย พร้อมของกลางเฮโรอีน 15 ก.ก. มูลค่า 23 ล้านบาท ซุกไว้ในกรอบรูป สารภาพรับจ้างขนจากมาเลเซีย

Google translate:

Boiled. Songkhla native Nigeria capture. With the central heroine worth 23 million baht, 15 kg delve into the frame. Accept a contract from Malaysian hair.

Edited March 24, 2010 by Lumumba

[aussiejosh]

this looks to me like one of the many similar stories - the "minnow" is caught, but "big fish" are still swimming around...

... was she desperat, greedy, or whatever?-no matter for me. if she gets her (very very hard punishment) -and if this is well covered with medias - this sends to another desperate persons a clear message: - "don't involve yourself at any kind of drug business".

drug business is if i can say "alive" because - no one is tryng (seriously) to stop this, there are allways customers that want to pay to "get high", and there are greedy criminal people who are willy to provide services for that money.

i think that i personaly would really rather die now -this moment, than to spend another 40(i'm 41) years in jail. -"no thanks"

Unfortunately people don't actually work like that, its just people seem to think they do.

[NamKangMan]

When will these people learn?

No, when will governments learn that prohibition has not worked with anything in humanity. We are an adaptive species. Alcohol, gambling, prostitution, drugs. Alcohol, gambling and prostitution are now legal in most countries. All a bust like this will do is push up the street value which then pushes up the amount of crime the addict has to do to afford their next hit. So, when you are happy to see a bust like this, it has just made "the street" a more dangerous place for you and increased the chances of you being a victim of property theft or robbery by violence. It's all a supply and demand market force. When will governments, around the world, view it as a medical issue, instead of a crime issue. This would cut out the black economy. Most western countries prescribe methadone as a substitue. What deterent did the death penalty have on this courier? Zero deterent. What deterent does gaol sentences have on users, zero deterent. Having said this, more people die from alcohol and tobacco than illicit drugs, WHY, because the government taxes alcohol and tobacco.

Edited March 24, 2010 by NamKangMan

[mythBuster]

Let's hope that the police forces worldwide will spend more time and resources in catching the big fish. It is easy to catch these poor people who have not much choice in life and are sometimes forced to become mules because of the poverty they live in.

[ericthai]

I don't think that the people in jails in Thailand are the kind of persons who can afford to pay a bribe. I've never been there in a Thai jail, however I assume that the population there is from the lower layer of the society. People who can afford brides, but I might be wrong it's just assumption, should be able to pay their way out always. Unless it's a high-profile case and again I assume that the person can walk his/her way out once the dust is set.

All you guys saying she is desperate or stupid have no idea how much gets through. Had she not been ratted out she likely doesn't get busted. I'll bet 90%+ of shipments make it through undetected and 75%+ of people busted just lose the drugs and a bribe to the cops.

I won't be running coke anytime soon but I can easily see the risk/reward being attractive to a personal with titanium testicles.

Don't be so naive, you cant always bribe your way out of things in Thailand. If the police accepted bribes all the time then the prisons would not be overcrowded as they are now.

Gigabyte, I hate to say your assumption is wrong. I know of one falang in jail for drugs that tried to bribe his way out but it didnt work. He still has a few more years to go. Also, there have been some articles in that past years about some high profile falangs that got arrested and in jail. So I really dont think even if you have the cash you can always buy your way out.