Couple arrested for smuggling Kratom leaves at Samui ferry port

[webfact]

Couple arrested for smuggling Kratom leaves at Samui ferry port



KOH SAMUI: -- On the 13th of August police in Koh Samui received a tip off that a consignment of Kratom was making its way from Donsak to Koh Samui.

When the white Toyota Vigo registration place KN1216 arrived in Koh Samui police were waiting at the ferry pier.

Mr. Bortzee, 20 and Mrs, Bunta, 28, were asked to step away from the vehicle while it was searched. On inspection of the vehicle police discovered two bags containing approximately 31 kilos of krantom leaves with a street value of around 40,000 baht.

The pair were arrested and the leaves confiscated. At the police station the couple told the police that they had been asked to transport the leaves by a fisherman named Mr. Kam who was due to pay them 8,000 baht for smuggling the drugs onto the island.

-- Samui Times 2014-08-20

[borisloosebrain]

<deleted> Thais gave been chewing that stuff fior centuries . Leave them alone to live their lives in peace !

[waynethor]

The Samui police must not get much publicity. They stop a truck filled with couple of bags of some natural and mild stimulant but 7 of them are in the picture. I guess we would see about 100 of them posing if there was a real bust.

[Cylon]

If there was Kratom in the 2 bags, have they been charged with smuggling their luggage as well.

[Scully]

31 kilo's, those leaves are heavier than they look.

[bangarang]

That stuff needs to be legalized. Chewing it or making it into a tea isn't nearly as bad as alcohol or even smoking weed. Just put a tax on it already and start profiting from this mild stimulant.

[ggt]

the leaves confiscated!

This case will be thrown out of court...due to lack of evidence...as the leaves will disappear from police storage...

[retell]

Thought they took it of the druglist allready ,, or was that just an idea thats never gonna happen

http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/672087-kratom-to-be-removed-from-thai-narcotics-list/

[thairastawoman]

And then tons of ganja go through...

How do you feel when eating these leaves ?

[timmyp]

It's such a mild stimulant, it's so silly that this was outlawed in the first place... prohibition of Krathom was undoubtedly the success of a populist politician trying to gain support through a meaningless issue ("Vote for me and I will stop this horrible drug destroying our communities!").

[ozsamurai]

We have a huge tree in our backyard, cops come over and check it out every now and then. Not really a big deal as all have mentioned, must be a slow bust week. Tip Off, more likely a nosey neighbor with a gripe.

Oz

[pacovl46]

I thought they legalized it recently. I remember reading something on Thai-Visa a while ago.

[retell]

I thought they legalized it recently. I remember reading something on Thai-Visa a while ago.

Look post #8

[kerrysum]

Thanks for the interesting posts. My wife was arguing that it was marijuana, I told her it wasn't. Personally I think it is a silly bust. Seems like a pretty harmless plant to me. Way less dangerous than Yah-Bah!

[Rooo]

Post discussing illegal activities removed.

[Tywais]

It's such a mild stimulant, it's so silly that this was outlawed in the first place... prohibition of Krathom was undoubtedly the success of a populist politician trying to gain support through a meaningless issue ("Vote for me and I will stop this horrible drug destroying our communities!").

That 'meaningless issue' was taxes of course.

"In Thailand, kratom was first scheduled for control in 1943 under the Kratom Act. At the time, the government was levying taxes from users and shops involved in the opium trade. Because of the increasing opium costs, many users were switching to kratom to manage their withdrawal symptoms. However, the launch of the Greater East Asia War in 1942 and declining revenues from the opium trade pushed the Thai government into action to curb and suppress competition in the opium market by making kratom illegal."

WiKi among other sources

[uptheos]

I was in the UK recently and you can order this stuff online by the ton, if you have the money.

[Higgins]

I got given it once... it gets you a bit up

And the next day... you get a bit down

[pokerspiv]

So this is what the cops are up to when they aren't trying to solve murders in a comically inept fashion.

[justanotheroldhippy]

And then tons of ganja go through...

How do you feel when eating these leaves ?

They are a mild-to-fair stimulant which helps relieve tiredness and give a bit of an energy boost... which is why many taxi drivers and bus drivers etc use them... a bit like a red bull but without the side effects of caffeine (racing heart, blood pressure etc). Kratom is also used by many Thais to control the lesser forms of diabetes. It is quite a strange 'drug' and not really fully understood... although not an opiate, it reacts with the brain's opiate receptors... and is therefore physically addictive. However... whilst taking a couple of leaves acts as a stimulant, taking 4 or 5 leaves acts as a sedative! Although a stimulant, it is also very effective in providing pain relief in cases of chronic aches and pains (M.E./C.F.S./Fibromyalgia for example). It also has a slight mood enhancing effect in some people, and can therefore also help with depression. The Thais are well aware of its medicinal properties (not just the fact that it is a stimulant). The only real negative is that they are physically addictive, and 'coming off' them is the equivalent of coming off any opiate. There is a common trend among young Thai guys to mix the leaves with red bull-type drinks and (I believe) cola and even cough syrup. The results of this brew enhance the stimulant effects tremendously, with the effects being more along a cocaine/amphetamine hit. Some say that the mix is almost comparable to Yabba. A kind of 'Tea' is commonly made from the leaves, simply by boiling them up in water. Most police wouldn't be too bothered on finding a couple of leaves, although technically you can be fined 500 baht for each leaf. However, anything more than a couple of leaves is going to cause a problem. Not too long ago there was a move to decriminalize them, but that seems to have fallen by the wayside for some reason. Quite a few Thais will have a small tree (small being less obvious) in their gardens (if they have one!). A friend of mine had a 2 metre tree in his front garden and it was regularly stripped bare by the local Burmese workers living close by... he has now pinned a notice to the tree in Thai and Burmese telling people to leave it alone!