UK Family Calls For Thailand Drug Smuggler Michael Connell To Be Released

[Briggsy]

Why does every Western journalist feel compelled to include the phrase 'Bangkok Hilton' in every story involving Westerners imprisoned in Thailand, irrespective of which prison they are being held at?

[jvs]

Some folks are saying alcohol is just as dangerous or worse as exstacy,this is not the point!The point is smuggling illegal drugs into Thailand is a big no no!

Are we supposed to feel sorry for people who knowingly do these things when they get caught?Sorry,not me.

[baboon]

8 years in a Bangkok prison? I think in this case he has paid sufficiently for what he has done.

[nurofiend]

Any sentence severity is relative to the country trying the case and the severity to which others in those countries receive for similar offences.

While 20 years might be viewed as severe in some countries, 3500 Ecstasy tablets would have resulted in the death penalty being imposed in other countries, where it would be considered the norm.

,

you say that like i didn't already know that...

as i said, it still doesn't make 20 years sound any less severe to me for the crime committed.

[OZEMADE]

I wonder how some on TVF would feel if they, or their mate or family were the one that had their drink spiked and were robbed and bashed or even killed from the drugs this scumbag bought into Thailand to make a quick quid.

Or how they would feel if their kid was given drugs at school and became edicted or even died from the drugs he took.

I have no sympathy for the scum bag and in my opinion he should have been executed. I have no time for drug peddlers who have no other cause than to make a quick quid at others expense.

You clearly know nothing about this issue. Spiked drinks are usually spiked with chemicals available (in Thailand) from any pharmacy. People do not get 'edicted' or even addicted to ecstacy. And I trust that this poster stays away from Alcohol which is pushed by major corporations, advertised by football teams and so on. More people have been killed, raped, beaten up or otherwise damaged because of alcohol than because of drugs. Alcohol is available eveywhere at anytime. Today I was in a national park (Alcohol ban) and watched as two farangs drank bottles of Chang and then wobbled to their hire car which they drove off as if in a F1 race. I hope they didn't knock some poor village kid over. So don't give me that Sh... about drugs without looking at the broader issue. And tell me... how much do you drink?

The only thing I may have said wrong was that the drugs he bought in. I was talking about drugs in general. I also apologise to you as to my spelling mistake as you are so much more knowledgeable and educated than I.

As for how much I drink, very moderately. However I do get pi**ed on the odd occasion when I have guests over.

I also stand by what I said about drug runners and distributors. They should be shot. I have no sympathy for them what so ever.

[StevenWayneSimpson]

I remember when he was first caught his fathers opinion was quite different in the local papers in bolton and bury to what it is today. i think he thought he would have got 6 months punishment as he probably would in the UK.

Surely, people involved in drugs in thailand know the risks?

[baboon]

I remember when he was first caught his fathers opinion was quite different in the local papers in bolton and bury to what it is today.  i think he thought he would have got 6 months punishment as he probably would in the UK.

Surely, people involved in drugs in thailand know the risks?

As another poster pointed out ages ago: `There is no excuse for not knowing`.Welcome to Thaivisa!

[wxyz]

Bangkok Hilton, for an inexpensive retirement.

Edited January 24, 2012 by wxyz

[maiphedmaiaroi]

He should be so lucky. A Thai would of got life or death for that huge quantity of drugs.

Dont convicted drug traffickers have to do the same prison stretch at home as they do in Thailand as per prison exchange laws ?

Connell has learning difficulties ? Didnt seem to be impeding his ability to pack pills into cream jars.

Just another example of going soft on poor little misguided westerners.

Anyone that packs 3400 pills into a jar and puts it into his hand luggage isnt all there.

Sorry if his family are reading this but from watching a documentry the other day with him in shows he isnt a bright lad at all.

He didnt something bad and im sure he has learnt his lesson.

Id say release him he has been through enough. He is no danger to anyone imo.

[maiphedmaiaroi]

You guys are hardcore. The stupid kid has done 8 years in a god awful place that tends to turn people into a mess of silly. Let him serve out his time in his home country where some real rehabilitation can take place. Good luck stupid, don't do it again.

How do you rehabilitate someone that sells toxic chemicals? What happened to the concept of making the polluter pay for the intentional damage caused? If someone dumped dioxin on your lawn, and then when caught said, ooops I have Attention Deficit Disorder, it's not my fault.

Your arguing about something completey different.

[TAWP]

Sending anyone to jail for drug-charges is a sad and pathetic state of our times.

And GK's comparison that selling the pills would, due to some assumed non-cleanliness, be like dumping poising in the local water well is just laughable.

[nurofiend]

either you're being a grammar nazi or the opposite, it's hard to tell

[baboon]

Because he is a British citizen?

[ChrisinBkk]

Everybody who travels to Thailand knows Thailand has a very strict policy on drugs and that getting caught usually means your life. They should make everybody coming to Thailand sign a waiver that states they understand this. That ways when these idiots get caught there no question on whether or not they deserve to spend the rest of his/her life in "bangkok hilton". I truly believe this guy is one lucky bastard and he should just finish his sentence without any complaints. Im sure after spending 8 years in a bangkok prison, any prison in the UK would be a ritz carlton.

[cdnvic]

Posts made in all CAPS removed. I can't believe someone didn't know you can't do that.

[Pedzie]

Michael Connell was stoppedwith 3,400 pills hidden in facial cream jars.

This demonstrates;

1. He was a trafficer of a dangerous product.

2. 3400 tablets wasn't for personal use, but for personal profit.

I don't understand the logic of people demanding clemency. If this man had taken a similar amount of chemicals and dumped it, people would be calling for his head because of his spreading of toxic carcinogens. Here we have a man that instead took the toxic chemicals and was going to sell it to people, many of whom did not possess the mental capacity to understand the dangerous nature of the product. Would people be so understanding if he was selling dangerous chemicals to officially designated intellectually challenged people?

What would be the reaction of a major pharmaceutical company if that company sold unsafe products to the general product? How is this man different? Hee was trafficing in chemicals that had no quality assurance and that were dangerous.

the difference is that mdma is a not an extremely dangerous chemical... the user to death ratio is vast, and of the relatively small amount of deaths recorded, a lot are due to cocktailing drugs.

the difference between a major pharmaceutical company that sold unsafe products to the general public and a guy bringing 3400 pills to thailand is an obvious one,

a pharmaceutical company selling unsafe products to the general public is worse because of a: the amount of people it would affect and b: the fact that people buying the pharmaceuticals are completely innocent, people buying ecstasy are not.

20 years for the crime is extreme... how many deaths due to ecstasy in thailand are you aware of seeing as it's such a dangerous chemical?

I agree with this comment also. On the other hand smuggling drugs into Thailand is extremely stupid, and deserves a stiffer sentence than either you or me would deem acceptable in our home country, at least to serve as a deterrent!

[ianf]

Welcome to fascism. Shooting people is precisely what Thaksin did. Those people included many drug users (addicts at drop in centres ), political opponents, innocent bystanders and so on. Yes. Shoot anyone whom you don't like. As I said welcome to fascism. (Jews next is it?) And that is precisely the problem with taking that hardline view. There are no limits.

[Briggsy]

Death penalty -->99 years --> 30 years --> 20 years --> 14 years --> ??

Why stop when you're on a roll. Nothing to lose. The family feels like it won't ever stop coming down.

Also, I doubt he'll serve the minimum 6 years in British jails. The British authorities will try to find every excuse in the book to release him. The jails are massively overcrowded and expensive to run. There has been a long-standing policy to release people early if possible. Curfew and tag, call it 'home detention' is probably the route.

[blackthorn2005]

He should be so lucky. A Thai would of got life or death for that huge quantity of drugs.

Dont convicted drug traffickers have to do the same prison stretch at home as they do in Thailand as per prison exchange laws ?

Connell has learning difficulties ? Didnt seem to be impeding his ability to pack pills into cream jars.

Just another example of going soft on poor little misguided westerners.

20 years for 3000 odd e's isn't going soft by any stretch and that isn't a 'huge quantity' of drugs either, quite small in fact... they would have been only worth about 1500-2000 pounds to buy in the uk in that quantity.

as his dad said in that article, 8 years in the hilton is enough punishment for the crime.

tho i think his sentence is reduced by half so he 'only' has another six years.

"they would have been only worth about 1500-2000 pounds to buy in the UK in that quantity." Not relevant, he committed the crime here, as already posted, he has had his sentence reduced and been allowed to return to the UK to serve the rest of his sentence. He intended to deal in misery addiction and death, let him serve the full sentence.

[Briggsy]

Unfortunately for Mr Connell, due to the length of his sentence, he is automatically classed as a category 'A' prisoner and will be housed with the most dangerous and hardened criminals the UK has to offer.

[bigbamboo]

Death penalty -->99 years --> 30 years --> 20 years --> 14 years --> ??

Why stop when you're on a roll. Nothing to lose. The family feels like it won't ever stop coming down.

Also, I doubt he'll serve the minimum 6 years in British jails. The British authorities will try to find every excuse in the book to release him. The jails are massively overcrowded and expensive to run. There has been a long-standing policy to release people early if possible. Curfew and tag, call it 'home detention' is probably the route.

You are supposed to haggle in Thailand.

[z12]

I choose lethal injection by oral alcohol overdose, thank you.

Edited January 25, 2012 by z12

[metisdead]

Inflammatory comments on moderation have been removed. If you have an issue, take it up with moderator by PM:

21) Not to discuss moderation publicly in the open forum; this includes individual actions, and specific or general policies and issues. You may send a PM to a moderator to discuss individual actions or email support (at) thaivisa.com to discuss moderation policy.

Posting in all capitals or in all bold, and using large or unusual fonts and colors is bad netiquette.

[Bagwan]

Advancing the argument that this lad was only 19 years old at the time is emotional claptrap. 19 year olds were piloting heavy 4 engined bombers during WW2 and they didn't have the hydraulic piloting aids available now. Can any Vietnam vet confirm that many of the troops there were about the same age? The age for full suffrage in the UK is 18. So a section of the British electorate are kids? Doesn't compute for me.

I do not know much at all about British jails as my only encounter with the law was for tap dancing on top of a telephone box when out of my head on my first night back in the UK after the unpleasantness at Suez. I was rewarded for this with a comfortable bed to sleep on in a police cell, a great breakfast in the morning and a fine of 5 shillings (25p or 12.5 baht). Thus the poster who stated that he would be treated as a Grade A prisoner may be correct as far as I know but my inclination would be that he spent the rest of his time in an 'open prison' which is not too different from staying at one of Billy Butlin's holiday camps of yesteryear.

[VBF]

........... my inclination would be that he spent the rest of his time in an 'open prison' which is not too different from staying at one of Billy Butlin's holiday camps of yesteryear.

Probably far more enjoyable too

[nurofiend]

He should be so lucky. A Thai would of got life or death for that huge quantity of drugs.

Dont convicted drug traffickers have to do the same prison stretch at home as they do in Thailand as per prison exchange laws ?

Connell has learning difficulties ? Didnt seem to be impeding his ability to pack pills into cream jars.

Just another example of going soft on poor little misguided westerners.

20 years for 3000 odd e's isn't going soft by any stretch and that isn't a 'huge quantity' of drugs either, quite small in fact... they would have been only worth about 1500-2000 pounds to buy in the uk in that quantity.

as his dad said in that article, 8 years in the hilton is enough punishment for the crime.

tho i think his sentence is reduced by half so he 'only' has another six years.

"they would have been only worth about 1500-2000 pounds to buy in the UK in that quantity." Not relevant, he committed the crime here, as already posted, he has had his sentence reduced and been allowed to return to the UK to serve the rest of his sentence. He intended to deal in misery addiction and death, let him serve the full sentence.

it's relevant when replying to a post stating "for that huge quantity of drugs"..............

[Buchholz]

Father in bid to have Thai jail man’s UK sentence cut

THE father of a convicted drug smuggler, who has been returned to the UK from Thailand to serve out his sentence, has explained why he believes his son is being overly-punished.

Mr Derek Connell is campaigning for his son’s remaining jail term to be reduced.

He claims that the British government is making his son, Michael, serve a further six years in custody in the UK before he can apply for release.

Continues:

http://www.burytimes.co.uk/news/9508788.Father_in_bid_to_have_Thai_jail_man___s_UK_sentence_cut/r/?ref=rss

Bury Times - February 2, 2012

.

[metisdead]

A post has been removed due to possible violation of copyright and non compliance of fair use. It is generally accepted, but not written into law, that quoting the first two or three sentences of an article and giving a link to the source is considered “fair use” and not a violation of copyright.

[warfie]

Michael Connell was stoppedwith 3,400 pills hidden in facial cream jars.

This demonstrates;

1. He was a trafficer of a dangerous product.

2. 3400 tablets wasn't for personal use, but for personal profit.

I don't understand the logic of people demanding clemency. If this man had taken a similar amount of chemicals and dumped it, people would be calling for his head because of his spreading of toxic carcinogens. Here we have a man that instead took the toxic chemicals and was going to sell it to people, many of whom did not possess the mental capacity to understand the dangerous nature of the product. Would people be so understanding if he was selling dangerous chemicals to officially designated intellectually challenged people?

What would be the reaction of a major pharmaceutical company if that company sold unsafe products to the general product? How is this man different? Hee was trafficing in chemicals that had no quality assurance and that were dangerous.

And what "toxic carcinogen" is it that "hee" was "trafficing"?

[Scott]

Posts removed.   This is a 7 year old topic. 

 

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