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

[maidu]

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

Advertisers, particularly those selling sugar coated puffed air crap to children.

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.

death penalty in Singapore and China, or 38 years in the slammer in HK = waaaaaaay too much penalty.

The drugs they're hyper-criminalizing don't even include the world's #1 most harmful drug.

The men who make such draconian laws don't even know what those drugs are about specifically or first hand. However, they are intimately familiar with the effects of the world's most harmful drug (you get one guess on which drug it is). Hint: some of its top dealers work for Seagram's, Johnny Walker, and Absolut.

Most of the users of illegal drugs are just getting stoned in their own private spaces, and not harming anyone. I can think of many criminal acts which are more harmful than using some types of those illegal drugs - yet which often carry no penalty (murder and rape, for starters). Incidentally, hemp is also a jailable offense, yet no one in the history of the planet has ever gotten stoned from smoking the stuff. It's yet another proof of the profound ignorance of the people making the laws.

Ignorant is actually too kind a description, they're actually mean-spirited, while propping up the liquor beer and wine industries.

Think about it: if you sold a certain type of drug (alcoholic drinks, for example), you would make a lot more money if you could convince politicians to criminalize every other type of recreational drug. Sound familiar? Connect the dots. Some of the politicians making the laws are alcoholics - how twisted is that?

Another factoid which our politicians are unaware of: more people die each year from prescription drugs than from illegal drugs.

Edited May 17, 2012 by maidu

[AZBill]

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,

Yeah those Nigerian guys are a real catch - especially the ones that own a cow or 2!

[Semper]

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.

How about mass media? IMO the worst.

[diggerdo]

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!

I couldn't agree more, people on here forget how lucky we are to be educated and have the benefit of a worldly wisdom, a lot of these girls are straight out of some northern village somewhere, unworldly and naive, are trying their best to support themselves and their family ( not like most westerners who expect the social welfare system to support them ) and then they are trapped by these drug dealing scum. Imagine the horror of being in their shoes, being scammed into believing you were starting a new life only to find out you are going to have to spend the next 15 years in some hell hole of a prison in some foregin country while the scum who set you up is walking free.

[gand]

They should go after the people sending them. They are the higher value target. Go after the people at the top. Executing mules does nothing. The people at the top just consider that the cost of doing business.

[nurofiend]

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.

i like nigerians, friendly bunch

and no i've never been groomed to smuggle anything

[BigJohnnyBKK]

Are you saying prostitutes are better than drug couriers?

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

You must be joking, now **that** makes me sick.

There is nothing morally wrong with choosing to exchange sex or whatever other services for money as long as you're not hurting anyone, especially if you're not hurting yourself, but the latter isn't actually anybody's business but your own.

Sure many sex workers in the "rent a girlfriend/make me your wife" racket are con artists and that's despicable in my book, right up there with selling drugs.

But don't tar them all with the same brush, there are many honest and very moral people in the explicit sex industry, certainly in higher proportaions than you'd find in a Wall Street investment bank or stock brokerage or corporate law or PR or lobbying firm or many other so-called "respectable" professions.

And keep in mind if drug problems were treated as a mental/medical problem rather than made illegal, the whole profit motive would go away and so would 90% of the collateral damage done by this scourge of a problem.

I can understand racism but I can also understand some facts

...

I do not hear of many Thai girls being tricked by say "German" tourists to be drug mules.

Maybe not so many as drug mules, but it does happen, and certainly plenty of all nationalities regularly trick girls into heading overseas as "wives" and then turn them over to nasty violent mafia-run brothels or pimp themselves out directly.

It's certainly the case that places like Somalia and Nigeria have fundamental economic/cultural crime problems, but nothing to do with race as a cause of immorality and crime.

Edited May 17, 2012 by BigJohnnyBKK

[KeyserSoze01]

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.

So, just how is someone bettering the lives of their family and themselves by going on a "perceived" holiday to HK with their boyfriend?

If they were deceived, they have no idea they are carrying drugs, no benefit to the courier. Your argument does not make any sense.

[ralphlsasser]

IF in fact they are telling the truth and honestly didn't know she had drugs, these girls/women are trying to better their lives. It's sad that the scum prey on the desperate ones.

[GentlemanJim]

I honestly think SOME of these girls have been desperately let down and suffered great misfortune. As a single mum at 18-20 and maybe with the total responsibility for the welfare of their parents in old age, many girls here show much more moral courage than the chavs who sit on their arse in the UK collecting benefits and social welfare handouts. They prostitute themselves to provide an education for their children and food for their parents. Some are con merchants, others are not and genuinely long for nothing more than a faithful man who will take up the role as head of the family. It is easy to play on the emotions of such fragile girls and to make them believe you are going to change their lives, this, if your intent is otherwise, in my opinion is far more morally bereft than prostituting yourself.

For a girl from a village to be even offered a trip to Hongkong, she would be so excited and truly believe you were changing her life and her families. She would go along with last minute changes no problem, as she would never want to run the chance of ruining this new life. I imagine many of those girls weep in prison every night about how stupid they have been and that now how their children and parents are now in dire straits, many with little chance of seeing their parents alive again. Sure there will be some bad ass girls in there who deserve to be there, but there will be others who granted, with hindsight were stupid, but did what they did unsuspecting for the love of 'their man' and their family. Brings a tear to my eye. I wish they could come up with a fool proof 100% lie detection system and get the innocent out of prison and the guilty in.

Edited May 17, 2012 by GentlemanJim

[Payboy]

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...............

Priests?

[noitom]

This reminds me of the movies Brokedown Palace with Claire Danes and the Bangkok Hilton with Nicole Kidman. Very good movies by the way.

[baboon]

The year is 2012. Thailand is no longer a backwards agricultural country populated by innocent and naive simpletons. Everyone knows what goes on in the tourist resorts. The media are constantly covering international drugs/sex/human trafficking stories. There is virtually no excuse for not knowing your trip abroad is in connection with criminal activities of one kind or another.

The M.O. as described in the opening article is as old as the hills. In my opinion, most of these youngsters are willing participants,even if they are unsure as to the exact nature of the crime.

[gand]

If you have watched 'locked up abroad' you will see men and women from western countries tricked or coerced into being a mules.

[spidermike007]

Part of having a successful life is knowing who to trust, and who to walk away from. Some people just cannot be believed. You would have to be quite lonely, or quite desperate to believe the average Nigerian. I feel a limited amount of compassion for someone who does not use their discriminative faculties, to determine who is reliable. To accept luggage from a friend of a Nigerian, to either transport to another country, or around town, is pure insanity. Why not inspect the bag first. Wouldn't you do that? I sure would. So, for the Thai government to claim the girl is innocent, well she is anything but. Maybe simple minded. But, not innocent. Gullible, but not innocent.

[Mrjlh]

Don't call the girls stupid. They are not stupid, they just are not educated which is typical for a vast majority of the Thai population. The Thai education system is lacking. They are also very naive because they lack the eduction required to make the right choice. People who call them stupid instead of recognizing it's an education problem are the ones that are stupid.

[gand]

They should add 'human trafficking' and 'drug mules' to the Thai education system.

[blazes]

My gf asked me about this email (below) that she received last weekend from a "Nigerian". It may be worth showing to your Thai ladies for how it attempts to exploit (for money in this case) the natural inclination of a woman, of any nationality perhaps, to take care of a child:

From: [email protected]

To: @hotmail.com

Subject: Honey

Date: Sun, 13 May 2012 23:35:47 +0000

Honey,

Thanks for your e-mail so far and for the care you have for me and Clinton you are really giving Phil a motherly love,by asking about his well be every time,I so much love that,I'm now fully getting set to travel with Clinton to come and see you in Thailand,my Love. The Doctor said Clinton is OK now and Clint on has been certified to fly to Thailand,all things be equal we will be with you in Thailand on Tuesday 15th May 2012 but we will depart here by today 16th of May 2012 late hours,we are going to spend about 32 hours and 30minuites,both air and waiting time and Honey,this will be my first time in Thailand,Please you must have to wait for us at the exit at the Air-Po! rt,so that we can easily locate you,and Clinton will be very happy if he see you at the Air-Port on arrival,after a long trip,Honey our arrival time is 12:30am.

Though the doctor is yet to discharge Phil from the Hospital,He gave Clinton's medical bill to me this Night,The drugs we bought and the total amount for treatment the Doctor gave me a Bill of $1,865USD,I have paid $865 already,because I wasn't expecting such a huge amount or maybe they cheated me because they know I'm a foreigner,I couldn't pay the full amount because,I have already spent the Money I came with on Goods and the shipping, and on Flight tickets to Thailand and Hotel here,I was just left with $900 dollars,So they needed me to complete the balance at the hospital of $1000 USD and I Just called my Bank in Scotland to notify me were I can use my credit cards in Africa,they said my credit cards,does not work in 12 Africa countries and there is no way I can use it in Africa,b! ecause of their poor Banking system here in Africa and I was so shocke d and I have lot on my Credit Card.So I needed $1,150 USD from you to enable me payoff the balance at the Hospital and use the balance for a cab to Air-Port,so that they can release Phil from the hospital,so that we can Embark on our Journey to Thailand. I will pay you back immediately I arrive in Thailand because I have also confirm it from my Bank,that I will be able to use my Credit Card in all Asian Countries,including Thailand,Because i told them I was going to Thailand to see you my Wife.

Meanwhile,Honey,I repeat this to you again, you don't have to be nervous about my coming,you don't have to stress yourself to go to the Best beautician or hairstylist,Please know that I will love you any way I met you,just be yourself,I really love to meet you also and I know is same with Phil,because he is very eager to meet you,remember what we both share the INNER Beauty,for love and one family of our family,Kids for a brighter future,I love you honey,than! ks for been there for me and Clinton,I love you Much Love,Kisses and hug for you,I expect your reply immediately,so that the doctor can release Clinton from the hospital while we get ready for the Flight to Thailand,and I will pay you back as soon as I arrive in Thailand.And I have also ask the doctor How I can receive the Money from you from Thailand,he said you can send the money to me via Western Union Money Transfer,I called Western Union in Thailand,they said,its very easy that they have offices in all Departmental Stores and Thai-Post all over Thailand and they gave me the below directives on how you can send the money to me.Please follow the following format and send the money in the following format to me

Locate any Departmental store or Thai-Post nearest to you and send the money via Western Union in the following format

Name of Receiver:Kenneth Morgan

Address of Receiver:Clinic Area 35,F.C.T,Abuja Nigeria

Honey,you should send following details to me immediately after payment,so that I can go to Western Union Money Transfer

and receive the money from them immediately.

Name of Sender:

Address of Sender:

Amount Sent:

MTCN (Money Transfer Control Number)

Test Question:What fo! r?

Test Answer:for Clinton

Honey,note that Africa is 6 hours late behind Thailand,so use the time advantage and send it on time because I still have about 19 hours before our departure to Thailand.

I love you

Kisses and hug for you

see you soon

Bobby

[jayceenik]

I dated this ThaiLoveLinks girl a couple years ago and am still in contact with her. She is 36, has an adult daughter, and lives with her farther in their coconut plantation in Prachuap Kirikhan.

She feels terribly lonely and longs for a foreign husband - for the romance, not for the money.

She has been contacted by a few "African dads" who want a mother for their kid(s) just like in the email posted - but in the first stages, prior to the request for money.

She is an intelligent and educated girl but so anxious to get a husband that, I'm afraid, a cunning West African could come to LOS and convince her to fly with him to HKG to get "married" and then play the you fly first with my (drug-laden) luggage trick.

I've had to disappoint her several times after she had shown me what those (criminal) prospective lovers had written to her.

[carvets]

The year is 2012. Thailand is no longer a backwards agricultural country populated by innocent and naive simpletons. Everyone knows what goes on in the tourist resorts. The media are constantly covering international drugs/sex/human trafficking stories. There is virtually no excuse for not knowing your trip abroad is in connection with criminal activities of one kind or another.

The M.O. as described in the opening article is as old as the hills. In my opinion, most of these youngsters are willing participants,even if they are unsure as to the exact nature of the crime.

Whether its 2012 or 2052 , There will always be people deceiving one another for personal gain. Right now in every country a man is deceiving a woman and vice versa for financial gain, emotional, physical or whatever gain they feel they may need. There will always be predators and they will always find their prey,...eventually.

Right now i could go down to Bangla, Pattaya, Issan, wherever in this country and eventually find a girl who would love a trip to HK or Singapore and be able to tell her friends she did that. It would be a real thrill for many girls. And i could run this scam easy as pie ( that is without the contraband , but using the basic MO ). Why i could even convince you that i was someone i was not , and you would never know.

The thing is its a gamble , and like lotteries and racehorses or casinos, people are willing to overlook the odds in the hope they might win. And its often the poorer people who stand to lose the most as they have the least to bet with and will often put it all on the line. Amazingly there are still people falling for the Nigerian 419 email scam , even though it has been all over the news and the net, but they still keep finding the vulnerable. How do they do that even though its 2012 ?

For sure there are those that have full knowledge of their circumstances, but it amazes me that people seem to overlook human frailty, the vulnerable , the weak , the poor. And the human trash that will exploit thiose weaknesses. You can see it any night on current affairs shows around the world. And as one poster mentioned , look at " Banged up Abroad " plenty of stories about girls duped into being couriers and ending up doing time in foreign jails. Some maybe with full knowledge, others who may suspect and then the ones i empathise with, who have no idea and lose their freedom so some creep can make a stack of money.

Edited May 18, 2012 by carvets

[Yunla]

According to my Thai schoolteacher friend, many girls are taught about "Lady Lure" which is when a man contacts you via dating site from abroad and sends you airticket and promise you nice home & visa and then you go there and are locked up in a house and prostituted often brutally & with all proceeds going to the man. The UK is one of the countries on the watch-list for "Lady Lure" but the kids are warned to watch out for this tactic from all countries.

The problem is that maybe the kids take this literaly as the only scam to be wary of, when infact the courier scam is more common and there are a lot of other dangerous situations kids need to be aware of.

Seems obvious to me that if the man is not willing to travel to Thailand, learn Thai language, live here for a long time or visit frequently & stay with the lady & get to know her family properly, then he isn't the kind of man she needs anyway.

Edited May 18, 2012 by Yunla

[metisdead]

Off topic posts have been removed. Discussion of why pharmaceutical drugs are more harmful than illegal drugs would be another topic altogether.

[Colabamumbai]

"Deceived" Im laughing now.

[Hostile17]

that's ok. Thai people are not yet rebelling against the authorities in their own country who are partners with drug dealers and decide which poor white courier will be arrested every couple days at the bangkok airport.

what goes around, comes around.

[saroq]

Let's be ever so careful not to racially profile the Nigerians, after all if we remain politically correct all the problems in the world will fix themselves. And besides we know that it's a white heterosexual western male that's the cause of these problems.

[MILT]

A better life in Nigeria? Thailand is a gem of a country anyways, but compared to Nigeria, Thailand is a diamond.

[MikeCritchley]

The issue of Nigerian cons in SE Asia is well documented. They are very good at their game. It's not just the "uneducated" country Thai girls as mentioned in an earlier post.

shows them getting $10million PER MONTH from Austrialia....and that's a country where scam alerts are on every website and are well understood.

The real problem is that it's still too easy to con people. Governments and police agencies are not hitting hard enough or at all. And in articles like this one, Western Union, ground-zero for scammer money transfers, say that it's not their problem and they have no intention of doing anything to prevent scams. So governments and police are mostly not helping, and companies are complicit.

Perhaps the best way to raise awareness is to do something like that BBC jet-ski scam show, but in Thai. Interview some of the women now in Hong Kong accused of drug trafficking. Have NGOs record sting operations like the first video in this post. Show it on TV and plaster in on You-tube. And basically embarass governements into doing the right thing!

[Macmundi]

Needless to say, it's the Thai Government's problem. Unless they educate EVERYONE the fatal consequences when handling narcotics. There goes another poor ass who gave her life up for something the Government neglected to protect!!!

[foxboy]

Why do West Africans come to Thailand? Do they have trade links, do any of them actually come to do legitimate business? I genuinely want to know, because it appears that most of them come to Thailand to commit crime.

They're certainly not there for the weather, like me, so why do they come? Do they have work visas?

[Semper]

Why do West Africans come to Thailand? Do they have trade links, do any of them actually come to do legitimate business? I genuinely want to know, because it appears that most of them come to Thailand to commit crime.

They're certainly not there for the weather, like me, so why do they come? Do they have work visas?

Cheap wh_ _ _s?