Deceived Thai Women Jailed In Hong Kong As Nigerian Drug Cartel Couriers

[webfact]

Deceived Thai women jailed in Hong Kong as Nigerian drug cartel couriers

HONG KONG, May 17 – Numbers of Thai women have been jailed in Hong Kong for drug smuggling as they were deceived by a Nigerian drug cartel using them as dealers.

Deputy Consul-General Suree Trairatananukool of Royal Thai Consulate-General in Hong Kong said drug gangs lured Thai women to smuggle drugs by asking them to become their girlfriends and inviting them to go abroad with them.

There are currently 71 Thais jailed in Hong Kong, of whom 55 are women, with 32 put behind bars under drug charges.

According to Ms Suree, some female victims willingly smuggled drugs while others were deceived by their foreign boyfriends--mostly from Africa, of which 80-90 per cent were from Nigeria.

Hong Kong is used as a channel for drug smuggling. Three or four Thais are arrested there each year for drug cases.

Ms Suree said there are two versions of the courier scenario, both involving boyfriends who are drug cartel members. In both cases he tells the girlfriend he cannot join the trip on the departure day and lets her travel by herself. Leaving his baggage with her, he tells her someone will pick her up and she is to give them the baggage in Hong Kong.

In another scenario, the boyfriend says he has problems and cannot join the trip. He will tell the girlfriend to leave for Thailand immediately once she arrives Hong Kong, and tells her to pick up a return ticket and a package from his cousin who is already at Hong Kong airport.

Deceived women are arrested at either Hong Kong or Thai airports, Ms Suree said. In Hong Kong, suspects are given 26 years prison for drug cases, but in China it carries the death penalty.

In the case of a Thai arrested in Kunming, the Thai consulate-general there appealed for leniency, asking for imprisonment instead of execution. The appeal is now being processed. The death penalty was once given a Thai suspected of involvement of drugs in Guangzhou.

According to Ms Suree, police officers in Hong Kong usually conduct drug cases until the last stage before informing the Consulate-General, which by then cannot provide much assistance to the Thai suspects.

The most common drugs being smuggled are methamphetamine and cocaine, she noted. (MCOT online news)

-- TNA 2012-05-17

[josephinebloggs]

If the below is true, then more fool anyone who can fall for such a ridiculous, ridiculous situation.

" Ms Suree said there are two versions of the courier scenario, both involving boyfriends who are drug cartel members. In both cases he tells the girlfriend he cannot join the trip on the departure day and lets her travel by herself. Leaving his baggage with her, he tells her someone will pick her up and she is to give them the baggage in Hong Kong. "

[carvets]

This one really makes me sick to the gut and angry. Drug dealing scum often operate at gutter level, but this is even lower . Some girls stupid and willingly participate, but the ones that are decieved because they want a better life for themselves and their families do not deserve this.

[Johnniey]

This one really makes me sick to the gut and angry. Drug dealing scum often operate at gutter level, but this is even lower . Some girls stupid and willingly participate, but the ones that are decieved because they want a better life for themselves and their families do not deserve this.

Are you saying prostitutes are better than drug couriers?

Like someone said - these girls are in it for the money,

[soi41]

This one really makes me sick to the gut and angry. Drug dealing scum often operate at gutter level, but this is even lower . Some girls stupid and willingly participate, but the ones that are decieved because they want a better life for themselves and their families do not deserve this.

And Mr Charlie in his red jacket was just passing her village at the right time !

[soundman]

I have removed all the posts and replies that are derogatory in nature towards people with dark skin.

[ratcatcher]

This one really makes me sick to the gut and angry. Drug dealing scum often operate at gutter level, but this is even lower . Some girls stupid and willingly participate, but the ones that are decieved because they want a better life for themselves and their families do not deserve this.

Are you saying prostitutes are better than drug couriers?

Like someone said - these girls are in it for the money,

Bankers, lawyers, politicians, drug couriers / dealers, prostitutes, T.V.evangelists. (Did I miss anyone?)

These people are in it for the money. Get it.

Edited May 17, 2012 by ratcatcher

[Unkomoncents]

Tragically, these kinds of things are really not that surprising, given the penchant for basic critical reasoning in Thai culture. My heart goes out to these women but this a common consequence of the willingness among many in the populace to auction off their daughters to the highest bidder, all after providing none of the parenting that results in the possession of basic life skills. These poor girls wouldn't know which way was up if you drew them a picture with a gigantic uni-directional arrow. The girls are singled out and once they've been removed from the herd, they are incredibly vulnerable. Truly sad.

[Jessi]

Its all caused by GREED.

[Rimmer]

A couple more posts removed, one discussing moderation and another a sick joke

[Yunla]

"Did you pack this luggage yourself?" is the question I always get asked at airports.

That question is actually asked not only to prevent terrorism etc. but to protect the person who is flying, its their last chance to disclaim themselves from it legally.

[soundman]

I have removed all the posts and replies that are derogatory in nature towards people with dark skin.

Why..?

Please read Thai Visa forum rules.

Sent from my HTC One X using Thaivisa Connect App

[chrisinth]

This one really makes me sick to the gut and angry. Drug dealing scum often operate at gutter level, but this is even lower . Some girls stupid and willingly participate, but the ones that are decieved because they want a better life for themselves and their families do not deserve this.

Are you saying prostitutes are better than drug couriers?

Like someone said - these girls are in it for the money,

Bankers, lawyers, politicians, drug couriers / dealers, prostitutes, T.V.evangelists. (Did I miss anyone?)

These people are in it for the money. Get it.

Police...............

[amrishtony]

Feel Sorry for the girls, hope others will learn a lesson from this.

I have been approached a number of times at the Airport check in counters by unknow people pleading me to share their luggage as I always fly light, I deny it all the time directly, who the hell knows what's in their luggage, could be anything from bombs to drugs etc etc.

This is a global problem of people getting lured, we can only hope that people get more wise and think with a cool head before they do anything.

[OzMick]

"Did you pack this luggage yourself?" is the question I always get asked at airports.

That question is actually asked not only to prevent terrorism etc. but to protect the person who is flying, its their last chance to disclaim themselves from it legally.

Apparently "My girlfriend's pimp did it for me." is NOT the right reply.

[Kilgore Trout]

Do the Thai authorities give leniency to females arrested in the kingdom drug smuggling while being deceived by their boyfriends? Think not.

college friend of my family is living proof; having spent 16 years in prison for unwittingly picking up a package of drugs for her "boyfriend."

I have heard of many other cases....there's even a movie about it; Brokedown Palace.

Typical; "foreigners are responsible for drugs in Thailand, so when we catch them we're going to nail them to the wall....but please give leniency to thai people who are arrested in other countries for bringing drugs there"

[FalangBaa]

Just for the record, and for those of you who are ignorant or racist, the black GIRLS in Bangkok are almost all innocent... Sure, the majority of them are hooking. But they are not involved in the drug trade or any other illegal activity other than hooking. The black girls originate mostly from Kenya, Uganda and (sometimes) Tanzania, i.e. East Africa, and the black boys are almost exclusively West African, 70% Nigerian, the remainder from Liberia, Sierra Leone and Ghana, and 90% of them are selling drugs or involved in people trafficking. I am talking about this as an agent with considerable experience in the field.

[Semper]

Just for the record, and for those of you who are ignorant or racist, the black GIRLS in Bangkok are almost all innocent... Sure, the majority of them are hooking. But they are not involved in the drug trade or any other illegal activity other than hooking. The black girls originate mostly from Kenya, Uganda and (sometimes) Tanzania, i.e. East Africa, and the black boys are almost exclusively West African, 70% Nigerian, the remainder from Liberia, Sierra Leone and Ghana, and 90% of them are selling drugs or involved in people trafficking. I am talking about this as an agent with considerable experience in the field.

I like black girls.

[FOODLOVER]

"Did you pack this luggage yourself?" is the question I always get asked at airports.

That question is actually asked not only to prevent terrorism etc. but to protect the person who is flying, its their last chance to disclaim themselves from it legally.

Apparently "My girlfriend's pimp did it for me." is NOT the right reply.

5555 and i thought i was bad!

[Semper]

Its all caused by GREED.

Correct. It all started with the 'invention' of money and credit.

[bigbamboo]

This one really makes me sick to the gut and angry. Drug dealing scum often operate at gutter level, but this is even lower . Some girls stupid and willingly participate, but the ones that are decieved because they want a better life for themselves and their families do not deserve this.

Are you saying prostitutes are better than drug couriers?

Like someone said - these girls are in it for the money,

Bankers, lawyers, politicians, drug couriers / dealers, prostitutes, T.V.evangelists. (Did I miss anyone?)

These people are in it for the money. Get it.

Police...............

When teaching I once asked a group of kids what they wanted to be when they grew up. Of course there were the usual answers.. doctor, nurse, engineer, and 'have my own business' etc., but there were always those who wanted to be policemen.

When I asked why, the answer was not your American TV cop style ' to make a difference' or even to ride a motorbike fast or carry a gun but 'because I want to be rich'.

Out of the mouths of babes and children!

Edited May 17, 2012 by bigbamboo

[spidermike007]

Why would anyone accept luggage from a Nigerian? Why? Doesn't the entire planet suspect them? I know some Nigerians must work, but they do seem like the worlds greatest scam artists. We should all be suspicious. Especially when flying or traveling from country to country.

[Unkomoncents]

Its all caused by GREED.

Correct. It all started with the 'invention' of money and credit.

Whether it's currency, spices, gold, gems, silk or beans, people will find something to covet. In the case of these women, greed is certainly an issue. However, there is a growing revisionist movement that seems to believe that if you rid the world of money, then debt and greed cease to be a problem. It seems you might be in this camp. I would encourage you to just do a spot check of pre-coinage empires (Aztecs, Mesopotamia, etc); I think you'll find that today's financial system, beset with intrinsic weaknesses though it is, is much kinder to many more people. Before modern coinage, people simply substituted other things to plunder and murder each other for.

[BigRick]

I have removed all the posts and replies that are derogatory in nature towards people with dark skin.

Would cultural observation count in the same manner? I can understand racism but I can also understand some facts. I am from the US we have the same kind of censorship IE Can't call it like it is. I do not hear of many Thai girls being tricked by say "German" tourists to be drug mules. What happens is a slippery slope of protecting the "Golden calf" or "Elephant in the room" at the expense of truth. I ask this because it would be really strange to see a online bulletin board under the same constraints of "Multiculturalism" and media bias as western based media. Again not saying anything about the job of moderation because I can imagine when it comes to the real subjects you can't talk about it is not a fun job one screw up you can go to jail for 20 years because someone said the wrong thing. That being said Nigerians and West african nationals are not protected by the same rules in Thailand. When we can't speak the truth then what is the point of having a sounding board because it only allows one politically correct point of view. We live in Thailand <Or at least I do> I also live in Bkk lets face it go down to Soi 4 and you know an inconvenient truth that goes against the concept of what is being moderated. So please clarify the rules for what is acceptable IE "politically correct" and what is not. Does it involve an arbitrary position of censorship? Example: Would it be too "Un" PC to say "There seems to be a high percentage of West Africans taking advantage of Thai women making them drug mules Hence West Africans seem to be involved in a lot of drug dealing which is looked upon in a very negative manner in Thailand"? It seems censoring that statement means you are against protecting the society against a clear threat. Just my two cents and pretty sure you will mod it anyway .

[BrianCR]

This one really makes me sick to the gut and angry. Drug dealing scum often operate at gutter level, but this is even lower . Some girls stupid and willingly participate, but the ones that are decieved because they want a better life for themselves and their families do not deserve this.

Are you saying prostitutes are better than drug couriers?

Like someone said - these girls are in it for the money,

Bankers, lawyers, politicians, drug couriers / dealers, prostitutes, T.V.evangelists. (Did I miss anyone?)

These people are in it for the money. Get it.

And should all be classed and treated the same!!!

[Semper]

Its all caused by GREED.

Correct. It all started with the 'invention' of money and credit.

Whether it's currency, spices, gold, gems, silk or beans, people will find something to covet. In the case of these women, greed is certainly an issue. However, there is a growing revisionist movement that seems to believe that if you rid the world of money, then debt and greed cease to be a problem. It seems you might be in this camp. I would encourage you to just do a spot check of pre-coinage empires (Aztecs, Mesopotamia, etc); I think you'll find that today's financial system, beset with intrinsic weaknesses though it is, is much kinder to many more people. Before modern coinage, people simply substituted other things to plunder and murder each other for.

I forgot to include religion in my post. Take away all those things (there are others of course) and we'll be just fine.

[EyesWideOpen]

I seem to recall a couple of years ago that Thailand simply realized that a very high percent of Nigerians were involved in one criminal activity or another. So in a moment of clarity they stopped issuing visas for anyone from Nigeria. Made perfect sense to me. However I think due to international pressure they had to rescind that idea and start issuing visas again for Nigerian residents. Too bad for this girl the government rescinded that block.......

[rakman]

Bankers, lawyers, politicians, drug couriers / dealers, prostitutes, T.V.evangelists. (Did I miss anyone?)

These people are in it for the money. Get it.

Used car salesmen and weather reporters.

Edited May 17, 2012 by rakman

[jerrysteve]

So why haven't the Thai Police, excuse the expression, "cracked" down on these Nigerian on this situtation? They have to know this type

of business is going on.

[KireB]

Its all caused by GREED.

Correct. It all started with the 'invention' of money and credit.

Bit too simple I think. A lot of these girls are unstable and easily manipulated into trafficking. I don't think they will earn more than 50,000 baht for a trip and even for 'greedy and bad women' that's not worth the penalties trafficking carries! I would call most of these girls victims of greedy drug dealers who systematically prey on the weaker ones in society!