Fake "Customs" Officer At Suvarnabhumi

[samtam]

Yesterday evening I returned from a trip to HK, and having cleared customs was walking towards my limo pick up point near Gate 4. A guy dressed in a black uniform with gold epaulettes came up to me as I was wheeling my trolly and asked me to move over to the side. He then asked to see inside my duty free bag. I duly opened it, and he said "OK", and moved away. I was travelling with my partner who looks Thai, and as I was stopped he too stopped to see what the "customs" guy wanted, which may have had the effect of scaring him off. As it happened I had two bottles of champagne, which would have been over the allowance, except they were for the two of us.

I only thought afterwards that the customs guy was probably some con artist looking to scam some fine out of me. I think I may have read about this on the forum before, but has anyone else had a similar experience? The guy did not appear to have any ID, but whereas the temptation was to tell the guy to get stuffed, you never really know who you're dealing with.

As a by the by, I had a Premium Lane card for Immigration and was glad I did - we overheard a Japanese guy saying that he waited over 1 hour in the normal queue.

[madjbs]

Probably one of the excise department officers who operate in the arrival hall after customs. If you are not over the limit there is nothing to worry about.

[samtam]

I didn't know they existed. It would help if they could identify themselves officially.

[bendix]

Been discussed to death here over the years. But that doesn't prevent some people from seeing something very innocuous and normal as some kind of scam.

Twas ever thus . .

[samtam]

Thanks, Bendix.

[rfukata]

I've worked in the Duty free industry for 27 years in several countries including Thailand & Indochina (retired) in 2009, however heard and experienced a ton of incidents.

As you mentioned I bought 2 bottles (multiple pax or 2 person) traveling together; It is best to have two separate receipts for each

bottle, the reason being is that I've witnessed an incident on the Lao/Thai border in which a group tour leader bought X amount of

whiskey for his group only to have it confiscated at the border customs point due to the over allowance issue on a single receipt.

Had the tourist paid individually, this would not have happened. Some tourist get away with these issues but

It is always best to be cautious or safe than sorry.

[Gone]

Why do you think he was fake? Little paranoid are we?

[samtam]

I think if you take the trouble to read my OP, the guy dud not identify himself in any official capacity, nor did his "uniform" state that he was from customs.

[crudy21]

If you ask to see his official ID as a customs officer and he cant/wont produce it, just tell him to do one and mind his own business.

Fake customs officers DO operate @ BKK.

[madjbs]

Excise department and Customs department are two different departments that have their own stations and their own officers. One or both of them use plain clothed spotters to identify possible suspects for the uniformed guys to pick up in the arrivals hall. The guy which stopped you could have been one of those. While there could potentially be "fake: officers it is hard to tell as you didn't ask him for his ID. You would think official procedure should be for them to identify themselves first, but this being Thailand we can't expect that is going to happen even if it was procedure.

[pipo1000]

If you ask to see his official ID as a customs officer and he cant/wont produce it, just tell him to do one and mind his own business.

Fake customs officers DO operate @ BKK.

Be careful with that,I've read a topic that there is on around who slaps you on the ears if you ask his ID.

[dddave]

Just after Suvarnabhumi opened, there was a major turf war between Customs and Excise. Excise lost that battle and were barred from the arrivals hall so they operated outside the doors. They had a point to make and pissed a lot of people off with their aggressive behavior, garnering a lot of bad press overseas in the process.

I suspect a deal was made that calmed them down but I wonder if they are still banned from inside arrivals.

[AZBill]

Many times the Premium Lane is a joke with many who don't hold passes at all. No one polices it and the card is so cheap its not very Premium at all. I just go in the Thai line with my wife and we get through pretty quick.

[rfukata]

Excise department and Customs department are two different departments that have their own stations and their own officers. One or both of them use plain clothed spotters to identify possible suspects for the uniformed guys to pick up in the arrivals hall. The guy which stopped you could have been one of those. While there could potentially be "fake: officers it is hard to tell as you didn't ask him for his ID. You would think official procedure should be for them to identify themselves first, but this being Thailand we can't expect that is going to happen even if it was procedure.

this is highly possible about the excise department. I forgot to mention on my earlier thread reply; the guy peered into your duty free bag -

you had 2 bottles & your partner closed in to check whats going on. He may have acknowledged the fact you were traveling in a pair

with 2 bottles - just random checking. They will fine you for any thing they find excessive or non duty paid over limits once exited from

the airport door exit.

[samtam]

Thank you. That's most helpful. I will know next time not to be surprised, and to split the purchase when there are two of us.

[Wallaby]

A bit off topic, where does one find out about one of those premium passes?

[trainman34014]

Excise department and Customs department are two different departments that have their own stations and their own officers. One or both of them use plain clothed spotters to identify possible suspects for the uniformed guys to pick up in the arrivals hall. The guy which stopped you could have been one of those. While there could potentially be "fake: officers it is hard to tell as you didn't ask him for his ID. You would think official procedure should be for them to identify themselves first, but this being Thailand we can't expect that is going to happen even if it was procedure.

this is highly possible about the excise department. I forgot to mention on my earlier thread reply; the guy peered into your duty free bag -

you had 2 bottles & your partner closed in to check whats going on. He may have acknowledged the fact you were traveling in a pair

with 2 bottles - just random checking. They will fine you for any thing they find excessive or non duty paid over limits once exited from

the airport door exit.

And that's what it's all about....waiting for you to exit before checking you out. The majority of people think that once they have 'exited' the customs area they are out of trouble if they are carrying anything over the limits. Not so; if you look to your right as you exit customs at Swampy you will see a small,black, blanked off area tucked away almost unnoticed and this is where the plain clothed Excise Officers work from nabbing people at random. I've been 'Invited' into their little world twice in the last three years and had everything checked out that I was carrying. I wasn't overloaded either time and they were very polite but beware because they are always on the prowl.

[samtam]

A bit off topic, where does one find out about one of those premium passes?

They are given out if you're travelling Business or First.

[tw25rw]

I think it's reasonable to be dubious of anyone who stops you once you are in the public area.. They have plenty of opportunities to check your stuff while you are airside and haven't had a chance to mingle with the public. Once you are outside, anything in your possession could have been given to you by someone outside and they would have a difficult job proving it wasn't in court.

[edwardandtubs]

I think it's reasonable to be dubious of anyone who stops you once you are in the public area.. They have plenty of opportunities to check your stuff while you are airside and haven't had a chance to mingle with the public. Once you are outside, anything in your possession could have been given to you by someone outside and they would have a difficult job proving it wasn't in court.

"Proving it in court" doesn't come into it. This isn't the good ole USA.

[tw25rw]

I think it's reasonable to be dubious of anyone who stops you once you are in the public area.. They have plenty of opportunities to check your stuff while you are airside and haven't had a chance to mingle with the public. Once you are outside, anything in your possession could have been given to you by someone outside and they would have a difficult job proving it wasn't in court.

"Proving it in court" doesn't come into it. This isn't the good ole USA.

I don't see the relevance of the USA, but at some point the customs man would have to know he was on shakey ground. It doesn't make sense for a legitimate customs officer to operate like that unless it was as part of a scam.

[endure]

If you ask to see his official ID as a customs officer and he cant/wont produce it, just tell him to do one and mind his own business.

Fake customs officers DO operate @ BKK.

Be careful with that,I've read a topic that there is on around who slaps you on the ears if you ask his ID.

He actually slapped another employee round the ears - not a traveller. Still let's not let the facts get in the way of a good story eh?

[samran]

I think it's reasonable to be dubious of anyone who stops you once you are in the public area.. They have plenty of opportunities to check your stuff while you are airside and haven't had a chance to mingle with the public. Once you are outside, anything in your possession could have been given to you by someone outside and they would have a difficult job proving it wasn't in court.

"Proving it in court" doesn't come into it. This isn't the good ole USA.

I don't see the relevance of the USA, but at some point the customs man would have to know he was on shakey ground. It doesn't make sense for a legitimate customs officer to operate like that unless it was as part of a scam.

Oh great.

Scam around every corner? Please.

[PattayaPhom]

Whenever travelling we all have thoughts of sun drenched beaches, riviara cafes, snow topped mountains or whatever...travellers to Thailand just think about 'scams'

[pauljones]

That Customs Official may not be legit. More than likely, he has a business relationship with airport security.

According to the Bangkok Post, Airport police "fine" over 80 people everyday for scamming visitors at the airport.

I have a feeling these "fines" are being paid monthly.

[sumrit]

I first came across this some five or six years ago. Arriving on an Emirates flight my (Thai) wife was a few yards behind me talking with another Thai lady as we entered the public area at Suvarnabhumi so I must have appeared to be on my own. I was approached by (I assumed) two customs officers who asked if they could look in my bags to see how many cigarettes I was carrying. They specifically asked about cigarettes, nothing else. They led me to a small partitioned area and my wife followed us. They asked her what she wanted and when we explained she was my wife they looked at each other and one said sorry we've got the wrong person and we could go. They didn't even look in our bags.

The cigarettes could have shown up when the bags were scanned of course but they appeared to be looking for a particular person, not bag and when we'd stopped in Dubai loads of people were stocking up on their duty free as usual so I assumed from the customs officers reaction they must have received information from Dubai about who had bought more than their duty free allowance. We have to show our boarding passes when purchasing something so they know where we're going and it wouldn't be difficult to flag up somebody buying too much.

Anyway there's a middle aged, grey haired man travelling on his own who arrived in Suvarnabhumi five or six years ago with too many cigarettes in his bags who still owes me a drink for being his (unintentional) decoy and allowing him to get away with it.

Edited March 15, 2012 by sumrit

[trainman34014]

I think it's reasonable to be dubious of anyone who stops you once you are in the public area.. They have plenty of opportunities to check your stuff while you are airside and haven't had a chance to mingle with the public. Once you are outside, anything in your possession could have been given to you by someone outside and they would have a difficult job proving it wasn't in court.

"Proving it in court" doesn't come into it. This isn't the good ole USA.

I don't see the relevance of the USA, but at some point the customs man would have to know he was on shakey ground. It doesn't make sense for a legitimate customs officer to operate like that unless it was as part of a scam.

You're not concentrating. The men in the little black box in the public area are 'Excise' men, not 'Customs' men. They operate as two separate departments in Thailand and they don't get on with each other well. By the way; this is Thailand and rules used in other countries don't apply. Anyway; in Britain for instance, Customs and Excise have more search powers than the Police do and can pursue you into any public area in the land, including your home. Would imagine they would have similar powers in the US as well.

[tw25rw]

You're not concentrating.

Pull your head in with that shit.

The men in the little black box in the public area are 'Excise' men, not 'Customs' men. They operate as two separate departments in Thailand and they don't get on with each other well. By the way; this is Thailand and rules used in other countries don't apply. Anyway; in Britain for instance, Customs and Excise have more search powers than the Police do and can pursue you into any public area in the land, including your home. Would imagine they would have similar powers in the US as well.

I don't care what other countries do. I have never mentioned any. But if they approach you in a public place, there has to be some burden of proof that what you are carrying was brought into the country by you. Just having something in a bag in a public place isn't enough. If that is how they do it at BKK, then it is a stupid way and prone to situations where someone can reasonably argue that what is in their possession isn't subject to excise.

[Farma]

I've seen these guys pull over newly arrived passengers more than a few times. They're normally standing at the exits of the fenced off international arivals area where you enter the public area. Near the hotel drivers and tour guides.

The ones i've seen have their I.D. on their left breast pocket which is covered by their jacket. The times I've seen them approach an arrival they pull the jacket open to show the I.D. while guiding the person to their checking area.

[tw25rw]

I've seen these guys pull over newly arrived passengers more than a few times. They're normally standing at the exits of the fenced off international arivals area where you enter the public area. Near the hotel drivers and tour guides.

The ones i've seen have their I.D. on their left breast pocket which is covered by their jacket. The times I've seen them approach an arrival they pull the jacket open to show the I.D. while guiding the person to their checking area.

At that location it makes sense. Once they have been out in the public area, it doesn't.