Arrested American part of 'major trafficking ring in Southeast Asia'

[marell]

Local police units and officials were not made aware of the operation.

Trust issues?

If you had a well organized and tight op running would you bring the local police into the mix?

Edited September 27, 2013 by marell

[Lee4Life]

"All these people were trained to kill," Pol Lt Gen Somyot told reporters at a police airport in Bangkok, where the suspects were flown Thursday from Phuket.

Mr Hunter was officer in the US Special Forces??? I doubt it. The article also says he was a US Navy Seaman (E3) which is a low ranking enlisted.

Maybe our BIB are playing loose with the facts to make this story more entertaining.

I was kind of wondering the same thing....." Mafia....Outlaw motorcycle gang members....International Drug Ring Leaders...Asassins?"

Really?

I thought the same thing about the BIB making a lot of noise about this story, but then I also wonder what the BIB told the press and then what the press actually reported?

[hawker9000]

Give them 30 days in the Bkk Hilton with Rat Turds on their pillows instead of mints. Make sure you tell them what happens at the end of 30 days several times each day then make them pay the ultimate penalty for their crime. Oh yea do not listen to the US Embassy about human rights and all they non essential stuff, These guys made a choice, let them pay for it now.

Absolutely! Also cut their hands, 200 whiplashes and let them die by hemorragy. Evidence is not necessary, if someone say they are criminal, that's whats they are, don't waste any trial Do not listen the US embassy (?!?), as human rights are, as you say, non-essential. Proportion in punishement is also a such and old concept, let's join North Korea instead, that is a good example on how thing should be done!

Tell you what. Take your next vacation in Baja del norte and then let's see if you come back singing the same song... (Or come back at all...unless you're a good customer...) No one's saying this guy won't get a trial; and no doubt the best attorney his drug money can buy. Comparison to N. Korea. Really.

[dao16]

Every time something like this happens, people coe on this board screaming for blood and torture. Believe me, they will see plenty of horrible things during what remains of their lives. whether in Thailand or in the US. I actually think the Thai prisons would be safer than many in the US, but yeah, dirty and with all the horrors we all have read about. Of course, these guys will end up in a federal prison in the US, which is typically nicer than in state penitentiaries, but it isn't pretty either.

So, relax--if they are guilty, they won't be having anymore fun. The DEA doesn't go after people and then change course (even in the rare cases where it ought to). Once they have decided to go after you, they are after you until the end.

Edited September 27, 2013 by dao16

[Halion]

Thai involvement in the local drug scene can be broken down as follows.

Users, Those whoe's habits define the market.

Mules, Those who carry ,transport and provide logistic support.

Financiers, Those who finance and reap the profits.

Users and Mules are a reguar feature of media coverage, however, mysteriously the money men have the ability to remain anonymous.

[MyFriend You]

So no Thai person involved! can anybody believe these people?

The Americans supplied a list of the suspects they wanted arrested, and the Thai police arrested them. Whether or not any Thais are involved wasn't the concern of the arresting officers; the request was to arrest those people and this was done. How about being glad that such evil bar stewards have been captured?

Yes,great that these kingpins were arrested - but there must be also some Thai leaders involved also - where are their arrests?

Why must there be some Thais involved?

Who else are they going to buy the drugs from in Thailand...........its a smuggling ring, without Thai accomplices, this cannot be done

[Just1Voice]

Ok, this OP says he was a former "Special Forces officer", which would mean Navy Seal - maybe 15-20 years ago.

Also Googled his name, and found 2 reports in other news sources that say he has already been deported, but 5 others have not yet.

[kagan]

I hope one day the human race realizes how stupid the war on drugs is.

[hawker9000]

I hope one day the human race realizes how stupid the war on drugs is.

...or even better how stupid their use!

[jcb2001]

"....part of a joint operation with Nigeria and Kenya"

would love to know their involvement

...International mafia network... ??????

The only credible enforcement agency mentioned in this report, again the DEA.

Oh yes these guys don't deal in window dressing.

Nice work fellas!

DEA a credible enforcement agency? Fast and Furious seems to come to mind.

[buck99]

"I hope one day the human race realizes how stupid the war on drugs is."

Of course the war on drugs is stupid. It war is long over and the side who wanted to stop drugs lost. Now the only ones who want the war to continue are those that benefit from it. There is huge amounts of money dependent on the "war". Such as: drug lords, big government, polititions, law inforcement, court systems and the correctional institutions just to name a few.

I've never used drugs but feel those who want to ruin their lives have the right to do so. There is no way to stop it. I'm sure where ever you are in the world, you within 15 minutes of scoring some sort of illegal drug.

[marcusd]

Local police units and officials were not made aware of the operation.

Trust issues?

I would sayquite normal when an embassy is involved

Sent from my GT-N7000B using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

[marcusd]

Give them 30 days in the Bkk Hilton with Rat Turds on their pillows instead of mints. Make sure you tell them what happens at the end of 30 days several times each day then make them pay the ultimate penalty for their crime. Oh yea do not listen to the US Embassy about human rights and all they non essential stuff, These guys made a choice, let them pay for it now.

What happens at the end of 30 days?

Sent from my GT-N7000B using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

[Baerboxer]

These guys are a waste of skin.

Profound!

[sawadeeken]

I say "BRAVO" to all that participated in getting these guys off the streets and into prison (hopefully)........

That said, I would like to bring up a subject, which many are against, "INVASION OF PERSONAL PRIVACY". Can you imagine this job being done without the invasion of somebody's privacy - maybe a few of us that didn't have anything to hide, and they probably didn't waste much time on us, BUT they DID get these guys. And what do you want to bet that there was 'phone surveilance and email interception done to get them. I am all for what they do and how they do it.

Only criminals need to worry about 'invasion of prvacy' -- not me!!!!!

[sawadeeken]

"I hope one day the human race realizes how stupid the war on drugs is."

Of course the war on drugs is stupid. It war is long over and the side who wanted to stop drugs lost. Now the only ones who want the war to continue are those that benefit from it. There is huge amounts of money dependent on the "war". Such as: drug lords, big government, polititions, law inforcement, court systems and the correctional institutions just to name a few.

I've never used drugs but feel those who want to ruin their lives have the right to do so. There is no way to stop it. I'm sure where ever you are in the world, you within 15 minutes of scoring some sort of illegal drug.

I'd like you to stop and think for a minute...... You say you think they have a right to do drugs and fry their brains if they want to. If you will just take a minute and look a little farther than the end of your nose, you might see that 'their right' to fry their mind is coming our of your pocket (and mine) a bit farther down the road. I'm sure that you 'bitch' about the cost of government and health care, as we all do cry about. Just think about it. We will pay all their bills when the become a 'drag' on society'. Taxes, man - taxes...... Yours and mine will take of them.

I don't want to deny any body any "Rights" they may have -- BUT -- I also don't want them to enjoy any of their rights that cost ME and not THEM them alone.

And that is what most dopers are doing today....................

Edit - misspelling

Edited September 27, 2013 by sawadeeken

[thhMan]

"I hope one day the human race realizes how stupid the war on drugs is."

Of course the war on drugs is stupid. It war is long over and the side who wanted to stop drugs lost. Now the only ones who want the war to continue are those that benefit from it. There is huge amounts of money dependent on the "war". Such as: drug lords, big government, polititions, law inforcement, court systems and the correctional institutions just to name a few.

I've never used drugs but feel those who want to ruin their lives have the right to do so. There is no way to stop it. I'm sure where ever you are in the world, you within 15 minutes of scoring some sort of illegal drug.

Well done matey... I totally agree with you. People dont buy drugs because they are forced to buy them.

[buck99]

"I hope one day the human race realizes how stupid the war on drugs is."

Of course the war on drugs is stupid. It war is long over and the side who wanted to stop drugs lost. Now the only ones who want the war to continue are those that benefit from it. There is huge amounts of money dependent on the "war". Such as: drug lords, big government, polititions, law inforcement, court systems and the correctional institutions just to name a few.

I've never used drugs but feel those who want to ruin their lives have the right to do so. There is no way to stop it. I'm sure where ever you are in the world, you within 15 minutes of scoring some sort of illegal drug.

I'd like you to stop and think for a minute...... You say you think they have a right to do drugs and fry their brains if they want to. If you will just take a minute and look a little farther than the end of your nose, you might see that 'their right' to fry their mind is coming our of your pocket (and mine) a bit farther down the road. I'm sure that you 'bitch' about the cost of government and health care, as we all do cry about. Just think about it. We will pay all their bills when the become a 'drag' on society'. Taxes, man - taxes...... Yours and mine will take of them.

I don't want to deny any body any "Rights" they may have -- BUT -- I also don't want them to enjoy any of their rights that cost ME and not THEM them alone.

And that is what most dopers are doing today....................

Edit - misspelling

Thank you for suggesting I look beyond my nose. I will try to do that. You argue that drugs should be controlled because of economic reasons. Lets look at that. The drug enforcement cost world wide is approximately 100 BILLION. The US federal government alone spends 15 Billion a year on drug enforcement and with State and local expenditures the amount is 25.7 Billion. The staggering cost is mind boggling but has all this cost and effort done anything to curtail the availability of drugs?? The answer is no. Drug prices have dropped dramatically over the past years. From 1990 to 2005 the wholesale prices of heroin have dropped 77%. Drugs become cheaper and more available with each passing year.

Over the past 4 decades 500,000 people have been imprisoned in the US for drug enforcement. The lost productivity of this population is estimated at an additional 40 Billion annually.

Since you are the one with the far sighted vision, please tell me how much more money we must spend to eradicate drugs?

[buck99]

I say "BRAVO" to all that participated in getting these guys off the streets and into prison (hopefully)........

That said, I would like to bring up a subject, which many are against, "INVASION OF PERSONAL PRIVACY". Can you imagine this job being done without the invasion of somebody's privacy - maybe a few of us that didn't have anything to hide, and they probably didn't waste much time on us, BUT they DID get these guys. And what do you want to bet that there was 'phone surveilance and email interception done to get them. I am all for what they do and how they do it.

Only criminals need to worry about 'invasion of prvacy' -- not me!!!!!

Im glad you are comfortable with your government knowing what you think, what you do, where you live and your financial activities. I am from the US and do not feel comfortable about it. I ran businesses all my life and have seen how the bureaucrats want to control every aspect of your life and business. They could care less if their meddling might bankrupt a company and effect the lives of 100's of people. I have seen how the government gets involved in unnecessary wars all over the world and buys the favor of other Nations with "Foreign Aid". My government cant run a post office, railroad, health care or welfare entitlements. I certainly don't think they can be trusted to keep my information confidential.

Through out history people have trusted their governments to do the right thing only to find out that they have been lead to death and disaster. The founding fathers in the US didn't trust the government. That's why they added the 2nd amendment to the Constitution. The right of the citizens to bear arms.

[marell]

So no Thai person involved! can anybody believe these people?

News reports coming out of the US indicate these were class "A' bad guys; and very good at being very bad. Also that they were more 'hired guns' than traffickers (but there's probably some overlap there). The apparent group leader had been even been an instructor qualified sniper. Those guys are extremely skilled and can be extremely scary.

Thais on board? Might be that they weren't able to recruit the talent they needed locally. But it did appear there were some of the ubiquitous "Asians' involved...so who knows? But at the end of the day, nice work in taking these guys down.

Edited September 28, 2013 by marell

[Valentine]

So no Thai person involved! can anybody believe these people?

News reports coming out of the US indicate these were class "A' bad guys; and very good at being very bad. Also that they were more 'hired guns' than traffickers (but there's probably some overlap there). The apparent group leader had been even been an instructor qualified sniper. Those guys are extremely skilled and can be extremely scary.

Thais on board? Might be that they weren't able to recruit the talent they needed locally. But it did appear there were some of the ubiquitous "Asians' involved...so who knows? But at the end of the day, nice work in taking these guys down.

If they were involved in large scale local distribution there would have to been Thais involved & some heavy hitters at that.

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

So no Thai person involved! can anybody believe these people?

News reports coming out of the US indicate these were class "A' bad guys; and very good at being very bad. Also that they were more 'hired guns' than traffickers (but there's probably some overlap there). The apparent group leader had been even been an instructor qualified sniper. Those guys are extremely skilled and can be extremely scary.

Thais on board? Might be that they weren't able to recruit the talent they needed locally. But it did appear there were some of the ubiquitous "Asians' involved...so who knows? But at the end of the day, nice work in taking these guys down.

I did a Google search yesterday using the Hunter guy's name as given in the news here, and found nothing in the way of U.S. originated news reports on him, either now or in the past. And nothing on the DEA/DOJ websites as well.

If you found something other than what originated with the AP out of Bangkok, can you post a link here?

The AP news report filed from Bangkok got picked up by a lot of U.S. news outlets, but it only contained the Thai authorities' claims -- and had no confirmation or information at all from U.S. law enforcement types.

[Docno]

So no Thai person involved! can anybody believe these people?

News reports coming out of the US indicate these were class "A' bad guys; and very good at being very bad. Also that they were more 'hired guns' than traffickers (but there's probably some overlap there). The apparent group leader had been even been an instructor qualified sniper. Those guys are extremely skilled and can be extremely scary.

Thais on board? Might be that they weren't able to recruit the talent they needed locally. But it did appear there were some of the ubiquitous "Asians' involved...so who knows? But at the end of the day, nice work in taking these guys down.

I did a Google search yesterday using the Hunter guy's name as given in the news here, and found nothing in the way of U.S. originated news reports on him, either now or in the past. And nothing on the DEA/DOJ websites as well.

If you found something other than what originated with the AP out of Bangkok, can you post a link here?

The AP news report filed from Bangkok got picked up by a lot of U.S. news outlets, but it only contained the Thai authorities' claims -- and had no confirmation or information at all from U.S. law enforcement types.

Here you go....

http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/headlines/2013/09/army-vet-turned-alleged-hitman-rambo-charged-in-plot-to-kill-dea-agent/

Says they were plotting to kill a DEA agent...

Quotes:

“Their intent was to commit the most serious and ruthless crime that can be directed against any law enforcement officer,” said DEA Administrator Michele Leonhart."

“The bone-chilling allegations in today’s indictment read like they were ripped from the pages of a Tom Clancy novel,” said US Attorney Preet Bharara. “The charges tell a tale of an international band of mercenary marksmen who enlisted their elite military training to serve as hired guns for evil ends.”

[Docno]

Good work by the Thai police.

Only good job they did was licking DEA boots!

What are you talking about?? Do you think it's a walk-in-the-park to arrest a group of men described in the US media as "an international band of mercenary marksmen who enlisted their elite military training to serve as hired guns for evil ends" and "hardened global criminals"??? Or perhaps you would prefer if Thai authorities did not cooperate with the police of other nations in combating international drug rings? I know that there are a lot of part-time Rambos around here, but I don't get your point....

[cup-O-coffee]

Thai and US police arrested a former American Navy seaman

...

How about, "Thai and US police arrested a former American man who played with Tinkertoys as a child"? Unless they are implying that the US Navy trains criminals, then this is ridiculous subject material.

Beyond that, it a relief to know this. This is the big leagues, and I am sure that Thailand was following orders from higher up the food chain. They are simply not capable of doing this on their own, as these bums existed here long before the action was engaged. "Hey! Whutevuh! It's business. It's not poissenal."

[steelepulse]

From what I read in another online article, this guy was planning on assassinating a captain and DEA agent in Africa for 800K USD and had boasted about other jobs. If true this guy is one nasty piece of work.

[mayday49]

Local police units and officials were not made aware of the operation.

Trust issues?

Protocol ...

[phitsanulokjohn]

They get away with it for so long then inevitably they get caught.The greed takes over and they never know when to stop.Welcome to a life in Jail, where you'll have plenty of time to reflect whether it was worth it or not.

[metisdead]

A post in violation of fair use policy has been removed. 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.

[Lite Beer]

American drug kingpin arrested in Phuket deported, faces trial in New York

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=e65W2NXkEmk

PHUKET: American drug lord and alleged murderer Joseph Hunter, who was arrested in Phuket on Wednesday night along with five alleged accomplices, has been deported from Thailand and faces trial in New York.

British media also reported that the two British men arrested at the same time, and accused of running one of the world’s biggest drug smuggling operations with Hunter, will also face trial in New York.

Thai authorities arrested Hunter at the Phuket Country Crlub and five others – two Britons, a Slovakian, a Filipino and a Taiwanese – in Patong on Wednesday, as requested by the United States.

ThaiRath newspaper reported that Hunter was accused of killing a judge in the Philippines, and is a former member of the US Special Forces.

The Narcotics Suppression Bureau said Hunter only used Thailand to plan his transnational drug trafficking and based his narcotic operations in the Philippines, the Narcotics Suppression Bureau said.

British tabloid newspaper The Mirror today reported that the two British men arrested had military expertise and were “trained to kill”.

“All these people were trained to kill,” said Thai deputy police chief Somyot Pumpanmuang in Bangkok, where the suspects were flown from Phuket.

A source close to the case was quoted by The Mirror as saying, “This is a major breakthrough in the war on drugs.

“The British men along with Hunter and the others had been suspected for a long time as being the kingpins of the Far East.

“We had been tracking them down for a long time. We will now get them in New York where they will face the law to its fullest degree.”

The Bangkok Post reported that yesterday morning, heavily armed Crime Suppression Division (CSD) commandos brought Hunter to Don Mueang airport, where he was taken aboard a charter flight back to the States for prosecution.

Pol Col Athip Thaennil, special operations chief of the CSD, led the motorcade to Don Mueang airport. He said Hunter looked solemn during the drive.

Thai police arrested Hunter as the US had revoked his passport, allowing them to deport him immediately.

Hunter had arrived in Phuket on September 6 and had stayed there since. The US embassy was advised of his trip to Thailand and contacted Thai authorities. Hunter will now stand trial in the US on drug trafficking charges.

Pol Maj Gen Chaiya said Interpol would trace other members of Hunter’s alleged drug gang.

The five other suspects arrested in Phuket appeared in court yesterday.

Four eastern European suspects in the same gang departed Phuket last Monday and they were arrested in Kenya and Nigeria on the same day as Hunter was apprehended. Police said the four are believed to be killers and bodyguards working for Hunter.

Source: http://www.thephuketnews.com/american-drug-kingpin-arrested-in-phuket-deported-faces-trial-in-new-york-42140.php

-- Phuket News 2013-09-28