Indonesian caught at Phuket airport with Bt15.6m in cocaine

[bander]

According to the police, a kilogram is worth about 3 million baht. Amazing how police exaggerate the value of drugs just to make their busts seem more important. According to online research, 1 kg in california is about 500,000 baht. That is a 600% exageration

You didn't account for VAT, import duty, and shipping costs.

Don't forget the bribes to the custom guys

[Time Traveller]

Lucky for him he wasn't caught in Indonesia... Then again... that might have been the less painful alternative.

Or Singapore!

It was impossible for this smuggler to get this bag thru Singapore airport without inside assistance from someone at the airport..

The baggage screeners in Singapore are the best I've seen anywhere and from experience they detect things that are completely missed by other airports.

[Boatfreak]

Another proof that dead penalty has absolutely NO effect.

[gyrosman]

So, when will this product be available for sale? A new source of tax income. I bet it will never make it to an evidence locker.

[gemguy]

He had flown to Singapore from Bogota, Colombia, the world capital of cocaine production and sales, and home to some of the world’s most powerful drug cartels.

Suicide

Police have stated that Jermani was due to deliver the drugs to a dealer in Khao Lak.

Why didn't the BIB let him deliver the drugs to Khao Lak and bust the top guy.

Any way death penalty would be appropriate.

Possibly...more than likely...... that dealer in Khao Lak is way too connected ...or something like that and more or less untouchable.

[Si Thea01]

According to the police, a kilogram is worth about 3 million baht. Amazing how police exaggerate the value of drugs just to make their busts seem more important. According to online research, 1 kg in california is about 500,000 baht. That is a 600% exaggeration

There may be a little exaggeration, as my research lists coke at around US$65.00 a gram in Thailand, which equates, at the current exchange rate, to about B2104.00 a gram, or B2,104,000.00 a kilogram. Thus 5.2 kilos would be around B10,940.00. According to further research, coke can be bought, top dollar, in California, for US$27,000.00 a kilo or US$37,500.00 in New York. So again, if my maths are right, feel free to correct me if they are not, then with the current exchange rate, this equates to around B874,260.00 and B1,214,215.00.00 per kilo. Of course it apparently can be bought more cheaply but this appears to be lower quality. Not being into the drug scene I can only relay what my research has revealed. Today's exchange B32.38 to US$1.00. Maybe a 33% exaggeration, what do you think?

Regardless of this, a pretty good job by law enforcement to get more grief off the streets. Given the limited information, it may well be that this guy is only a mule, given his age and how he travelled here, as you rarely find the Mr Bigs transporting the garbage themselves.

Edited April 21, 2015 by Si Thea01

[shaurene]

Lucky for him he wasn't caught in Indonesia... Then again... that might have been the less painful alternative.

He very lucky not caught in Singapore after getting off his flight from Columbia. 100% death there.

[FlorC]

Sad day for the man caught and the people from the growers to the users. What a waste.

The war on drugs is repression of happiness. Weed & coke & xtc are recreational drugs . People should be free to put in their body what they want , without hurting others.

Never got why they are so harsh here in SEA. Life sentences & death for some blow ?

Why import coke from Columbia ? Isn't thai climate about the same as there ? Why not grow it here , cut out the middle man & a lot of risk. Or is it thai's ratting out on each other for a bonus ?

[seancbk]

According to the police, a kilogram is worth about 3 million baht. Amazing how police exaggerate the value of drugs just to make their busts seem more important. According to online research, 1 kg in california is about 500,000 baht. That is a 600% exageration

In Hong Kong a gram is about 4500 THB

In Singapore a gram is even more

Just because its cheaper in the US does not mean it's cheap everywhere. Also don't forget that quality varies immensely.

[IamNoone88]

He looks like he knows he has hit the end of the road.

[sir charles IV]

Another proof that dead penalty has absolutely NO effect.

oh please. Not another one. Had it not been for death penalty we'd expect much more drug activity. Granted some will never learn. But most do. I'd make it death penalty for any quantity of drugs smuggled anywhere. We all wish we could make lots of money and not pay tax and not do much work. Those who choose this path deserve the harshest penalty. Get a job and live like a normal person. If you think ur too clever to work and get rich quick then be prepared to pay the ultimate price.

[stevenl]

Another proof that dead penalty has absolutely NO effect.

oh please. Not another one. Had it not been for death penalty we'd expect much more drug activity.

And you base that opinion on what?

[Andre0720]

Nicotine is more addictive than cocaine..

Ask anyone who tried to quit either one of these drugs....

[Andre0720]

Sad day for the man caught and the people from the growers to the users. What a waste.

The war on drugs is repression of happiness. Weed & coke & xtc are recreational drugs . People should be free to put in their body what they want , without hurting others.

Never got why they are so harsh here in SEA. Life sentences & death for some blow ?

Why import coke from Columbia ? Isn't thai climate about the same as there ? Why not grow it here , cut out the middle man & a lot of risk. Or is it thai's ratting out on each other for a bonus ?

People should be free to put in their body what they want , without hurting others.''

Does not work that way.

Losers get to do drugs. Then they want more and more. And they have to lie ans steal to get more.

Without hurting others,,,,, Very few people would be included in that statement...

[CapeThai]

Idiot... Wrapped in foil and hidden inside books. He maybe watched some smuggling movies from the 70s and sniffed away while packing his stash.

[sir charles IV]

Another proof that dead penalty has absolutely NO effect.

oh please. Not another one. Had it not been for death penalty we'd expect much more drug activity.

And you base that opinion on what?

pretty much the deference factor. For example if you soften traffic infringement cost and license cancellation in most developed countries you'd see more accidents on roads as is the case in Thailand. Fear of penalty is sometimes required to deter some people. But of course not all people.

[stevenl]

Another proof that dead penalty has absolutely NO effect.

oh please. Not another one. Had it not been for death penalty we'd expect much more drug activity.

And you base that opinion on what?

pretty much the deference factor. For example if you soften traffic infringement cost and license cancellation in most developed countries you'd see more accidents on roads as is the case in Thailand. Fear of penalty is sometimes required to deter some people. But of course not all people.

You realise that your opinion since a long time has been refuted by experts on the subject?

[kaorop]

Let me guess, this Indo guy life's is expendable and not worth the chair he sits on, he's a smuggler's

fodder who couldn't give a toss what will happened to him, as he's only the mule here....

yes and expect a rash of smaller busts across thailand as the main load gets distributed.

again we have to ask, why not keep it quiet, track a dummy package till it gets to its final

destination, then make a bust?

standard procedure for western countries

dumbasses or dont want to upset someone? take your pick.

[sir charles IV]

You realise that your opinion since a long time has been refuted by experts on the subject?

do u care to provide evidence to back your argument or r u just making things up as u go. Lol

[stevenl]

You realise that your opinion since a long time has been refuted by experts on the subject?

do u care to provide evidence to back your argument or r u just making things up as u go. Lol

Can do but you'll have to wait a few days, no desktop access atm.

But Google yourself and you'll see for yourself. Death penalty is old fashioned and proven a very bad deterrent.

[brewsterbudgen]

I can't see the problem with doing coke. If it was legal there'd be no need to smuggle it. Calling for the death penalty is just moronic.

[sir charles IV]

Sure thing.

[Shadychris]

Wrapped in foil inside cut out books?

He'd have prob got away with it without the foil showing up on X-ray, having simply used plastic bags.

Loser.

Yess hardly the smartest concealment in history - almost as if someone wanted this mule to get caught.... Whilst quite likely some one a few places back in the queue breezed through with 10 kilos more sensibly concealed, while the Customs were wrapped up in dealing with the first guy. One of the oldest tricks in the book - give some away to get a whole lot more through.

[Tchooptip]

According to the police, a kilogram is worth about 3 million baht. Amazing how police exaggerate the value of drugs just to make their busts seem more important. According to online research, 1 kg in california is about 500,000 baht. That is a 600% exageration

3000 Baht a gramI I'm afraid it is not 600% exaggeration, it would mean a gram of heroin for 500 baht?...doubtful

[Shadychris]

According to the police, a kilogram is worth about 3 million baht. Amazing how police exaggerate the value of drugs just to make their busts seem more important. According to online research, 1 kg in california is about 500,000 baht. That is a 600% exaggeration

There may be a little exaggeration, as my research lists coke at around US$65.00 a gram in Thailand, which equates, at the current exchange rate, to about B2104.00 a gram, or B2,104,000.00 a kilogram. Thus 5.2 kilos would be around B10,940.00. According to further research, coke can be bought, top dollar, in California, for US$27,000.00 a kilo or US$37,500.00 in New York. So again, if my maths are right, feel free to correct me if they are not, then with the current exchange rate, this equates to around B874,260.00 and B1,214,215.00.00 per kilo. Of course it apparently can be bought more cheaply but this appears to be lower quality. Not being into the drug scene I can only relay what my research has revealed. Today's exchange B32.38 to US$1.00. Maybe a 33% exaggeration, what do you think?

Regardless of this, a pretty good job by law enforcement to get more grief off the streets. Given the limited information, it may well be that this guy is only a mule, given his age and how he travelled here, as you rarely find the Mr Bigs transporting the garbage themselves.

Your maths and figures are sound - but you are forgetting if this was direct from Columbia the purity would be very high. Coke almost never gets sold on the street at that level of purity, its usually cut at least once - sometimes two or three times by intermediate dealers before the man on the street buys it. Quite often street purity can be around 30% so whilst wholesale price for 5K might only be around 6M Baht street value would indeed be 15M.

You are correct of course this guy was only a mule, and the extremely amateurish attempt at concealment in a material that is actually the most likely to be discovered, makes it highly likely to my mind that this guy was a sacrifice to allow a bigger consignment to slip through whilst everyone was busy rubbing their hands and patting themselves on the back dealing with this poor sap.

[FlorC]

Sad day for the man caught and the people from the growers to the users. What a waste.

The war on drugs is repression of happiness. Weed & coke & xtc are recreational drugs . People should be free to put in their body what they want , without hurting others.

Never got why they are so harsh here in SEA. Life sentences & death for some blow ?

Why import coke from Columbia ? Isn't thai climate about the same as there ? Why not grow it here , cut out the middle man & a lot of risk. Or is it thai's ratting out on each other for a bonus ?

People should be free to put in their body what they want , without hurting others.''

Does not work that way.

Losers get to do drugs. Then they want more and more. And they have to lie ans steal to get more.

Without hurting others,,,,, Very few people would be included in that statement...

If it isn't crime anymore , you can grow it yourself , at practicaly no cost . No lying/stealing , no druglords , no-one getting rich off it . Alcohol industry might have a problem with it...

Would bring in a lot of tourists though.

I can see the TAT slogan now : Come to thailand and relax with some weed (or coke)

No need for the nasty stuff like yaba & heroine.

It works for holland and colorado,...(well not the coke).

[stevenl]

Wrapped in foil inside cut out books?

He'd have prob got away with it without the foil showing up on X-ray, having simply used plastic bags.

Loser.

Yess hardly the smartest concealment in history - almost as if someone wanted this mule to get caught.... Whilst quite likely some one a few places back in the queue breezed through with 10 kilos more sensibly concealed, while the Customs were wrapped up in dealing with the first guy. One of the oldest tricks in the book - give some away to get a whole lot more through.

Ah, and you think you know that but customs doesn't?

[Shadychris]

According to the police, a kilogram is worth about 3 million baht. Amazing how police exaggerate the value of drugs just to make their busts seem more important. According to online research, 1 kg in california is about 500,000 baht. That is a 600% exageration

3000 Baht a gramI I'm afraid it is not 600% exaggeration, it would mean a gram of heroin for 500 baht?...doubtful

Exactly! 3000 Baht a gram is a pretty average price. bitterbatter is of course quoting a wholesale price per Kg in California, where its probably cheaper to buy in quantity than SE Asia anyway, and not taking into account the dealers profits and cutting of the product along the way. Police invariably quote street value, not wholesale cost.

[asdecas]

5.2 kilos, that's a hellavalot of coke. Don't know the purity but after it's been cut it's not surprising they valued it at over 15 million baht.

I love it when the TV experts get on a case; everything is instantly quantified, judged and sentenced. Who needs policemen, judges or courts?

[Shadychris]

Wrapped in foil inside cut out books?

He'd have prob got away with it without the foil showing up on X-ray, having simply used plastic bags.

Loser.

Yess hardly the smartest concealment in history - almost as if someone wanted this mule to get caught.... Whilst quite likely some one a few places back in the queue breezed through with 10 kilos more sensibly concealed, while the Customs were wrapped up in dealing with the first guy. One of the oldest tricks in the book - give some away to get a whole lot more through.

Ah, and you think you know that but customs doesn't?

Where in my post did I say that customs don't know it?? Of course they know it, but I DO know that this is a ploy used by smugglers. Customs have limited manpower and tying them up with one thing can help to assist in getting something else through.