Pattaya police seize booze, Aston Martin and alleged tax dodger

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Police Seize Booze, Aston Martin and Alleged Tax Dodger
By Khaosod English


Customs officers checks out sports cars parked in front of a mansion house party in Pattaya last night.

CHONBURI — What started as a call on a noisy house party reportedly turned into discovery of a hoard of untaxed alcohol, tobacco and a sports car, which the Thai state sees as at least 1.2 million baht in lost revenue.

When neighbor’s complaints led security officers to a mansion in Pattaya’s Jomtien Beach area late last night, they found more than 30 foreign men and 20 Thai women along with a well-stocked bar of about 1,000 bottles of alcohol, 100 cigars, an Aston Martin, a Porsche and a Rolls Royce.

The problem, officers said, was that no duties had been paid for much of the luxury goods – including the Aston Martin. Therefore, district official Prapan Prathumchumpoo said, they confiscated a number of the untaxed items – including the Aston Martin.

Full story: http://www.khaosodenglish.com/detail.php?newsid=1443164364

-- Khaosod English 2015-09-25

[craigt3365]

Wow...would have been fun to be invited to one of those parties! At least on a night with no police raid....LOL

[KhunBENQ]

She told security officers in the raid that her husband, a foreigner who works at a hotel in Pattaya, actually owns the place and likes to invite his friends to parties at the mansion.

Finally we know that jobs at Pattaya hotels are damn well paid.

Where can I apply ?

[losworld]

Come on look pretty obvious one of these pay for play parties booked with foreigners. Guy is operating a club out of the house probably charging for booze etc.

[jaywalker]

I got invited to and attended a party at the minister of interior's pad in BKK once.

I utterly forget the guy's name, and it was about 4 years ago. It was apparently a foul name, as my red-shirt wife was disgusted at the name & wouldn't go with me.

It was quite an opulent affair. He had a cherry 1967 Chevy stepside pickup painted purple that I was drooling over.

[tajtom]

Nothing a nice chat and fat wallet will not fix

A sad end to a good night and the starving little Thai girls got a quick back door exit

[striderman]

pic 3 there is somebody giving what looks like a bottle of cognac an envious glance.

no wonder it was all seized

[clockman]

Customs, another department. That would not bear, close scrutiny!

[ronthai]

Party time at the police station

[empireboy]

Envy?
Pays not to p**s-off the neighbours! Better to invite them..

[JeffreyO]

I'm just curious. I know it's possible to track that import duties weren't paid on a car, such as a VIN but how could they tell that they weren't paid on the alcohol? Who knows where he bought the bottles? Isn't the burden of proof on the police, if they asked him to prove where he bought them from wouldn't that illegally put the burden of proof on the suspect?

Something sounds not quite right. Or maybe I'm just being pessimistic.

[gandalf12]

With the import duty on an Astom Bht1.2m is very low

[gandalf12]

I am definitly in the wrong industry. Any jobs going in a Pattaya hotel?

[Shawn0001]

Wow...would have been fun to be invited to one of those parties! At least on a night with no police raid....LOL

With over 30 foreign men but only 20 Thai women it is not the sort of ratio I find fun.

[Shawn0001]

I'm just curious. I know it's possible to track that import duties weren't paid on a car, such as a VIN but how could they tell that they weren't paid on the alcohol? Who knows where he bought the bottles? Isn't the burden of proof on the police, if they asked him to prove where he bought them from wouldn't that illegally put the burden of proof on the suspect?

Something sounds not quite right. Or maybe I'm just being pessimistic.

Alcohol has a little label on it to say that the tax has been paid.

[JeffreyO]

I'm just curious. I know it's possible to track that import duties weren't paid on a car, such as a VIN but how could they tell that they weren't paid on the alcohol? Who knows where he bought the bottles? Isn't the burden of proof on the police, if they asked him to prove where he bought them from wouldn't that illegally put the burden of proof on the suspect?

Something sounds not quite right. Or maybe I'm just being pessimistic.

Alcohol has a little label on it to say that the tax has been paid.

Can the label not be removed? Is it considered illegal to remove the label? I don't drink often....

[waldroj]

I'm just curious. I know it's possible to track that import duties weren't paid on a car, such as a VIN but how could they tell that they weren't paid on the alcohol? Who knows where he bought the bottles? Isn't the burden of proof on the police, if they asked him to prove where he bought them from wouldn't that illegally put the burden of proof on the suspect?

Something sounds not quite right. Or maybe I'm just being pessimistic.

Alcohol has a little label on it to say that the tax has been paid.

Can the label not be removed? Is it considered illegal to remove the label? I don't drink often....

See attached photo of the blue label that should be on all imported alcohol (from http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/691469-smuggled-alcoholic-drinks-on-the-rise-in-thailand/).

This is a good opportunity to alert wine drinkers in Thailand to "blended" wines! See https://surathai.wordpress.com/2015/01/29/imported-not-wine/

[Shawn0001]

I'm just curious. I know it's possible to track that import duties weren't paid on a car, such as a VIN but how could they tell that they weren't paid on the alcohol? Who knows where he bought the bottles? Isn't the burden of proof on the police, if they asked him to prove where he bought them from wouldn't that illegally put the burden of proof on the suspect?

Something sounds not quite right. Or maybe I'm just being pessimistic.

Alcohol has a little label on it to say that the tax has been paid.

Can the label not be removed? Is it considered illegal to remove the label? I don't drink often....

I have no idea if removing the labels is illegal, but removing more than 1000 of them and then leaving them in your house with an untaxed Aston Martin parked outside might not be a good idea.

[BigBadGeordie]

Sorry you got caught Martin......

[JHolmesJr]

Great…you call the cops and the customs guys show up.

[TheCruncher]

I'm just curious. I know it's possible to track that import duties weren't paid on a car, such as a VIN but how could they tell that they weren't paid on the alcohol? Who knows where he bought the bottles? Isn't the burden of proof on the police, if they asked him to prove where he bought them from wouldn't that illegally put the burden of proof on the suspect?

Something sounds not quite right. Or maybe I'm just being pessimistic.

Alcohol has a little label on it to say that the tax has been paid.

Can the label not be removed? Is it considered illegal to remove the label? I don't drink often....

See attached photo of the blue label that should be on all imported alcohol (from http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/691469-smuggled-alcoholic-drinks-on-the-rise-in-thailand/).

This is a good opportunity to alert wine drinkers in Thailand to "blended" wines! See https://surathai.wordpress.com/2015/01/29/imported-not-wine/

Just to proof to you that the article you linked to is WRONG.

Included a picture from a blended wine at Friendshp supermarket, and look at the color of the label. By the way I looked through their stock of blended and "real" wine, and couldn't find a single bottle or box that didn't have a blue label, and they had many fruit wines.

[Shawn0001]

See attached photo of the blue label that should be on all imported alcohol (from http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/691469-smuggled-alcoholic-drinks-on-the-rise-in-thailand/).

This is a good opportunity to alert wine drinkers in Thailand to "blended" wines! See https://surathai.wordpress.com/2015/01/29/imported-not-wine/

Just to proof to you that the article you linked to is WRONG.

Included a picture from a blended wine at Friendshp supermarket, and look at the color of the label. By the way I looked through their stock of blended and "real" wine, and couldn't find a single bottle or box that didn't have a blue label, and they had many fruit wines.

20150829_001147.jpg

Just to prove to you that you did not bother to read the whole article before making assumptions.

"But from now on, orange or blue stamps cannot help us anymore......."

[MTH]

Alcohol has a little label on it to say that the tax has been paid.

Can the label not be removed? Is it considered illegal to remove the label? I don't drink often....

See attached photo of the blue label that should be on all imported alcohol (from http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/691469-smuggled-alcoholic-drinks-on-the-rise-in-thailand/).

This is a good opportunity to alert wine drinkers in Thailand to "blended" wines! See https://surathai.wordpress.com/2015/01/29/imported-not-wine/

Just to proof to you that the article you linked to is WRONG.

Included a picture from a blended wine at Friendshp supermarket, and look at the color of the label. By the way I looked through their stock of blended and "real" wine, and couldn't find a single bottle or box that didn't have a blue label, and they had many fruit wines.

20150829_001147.jpg

I think you'd have to read the article again, it's not wrong just poorly written.

Continue reading the last part of the article from the quote: "But from now on, orange or blue stamps cannot help us anymore."

Edit: ^ Looks like Shawn beat me to it.

Edited September 25, 2015 by MTH

[TheCruncher]

See attached photo of the blue label that should be on all imported alcohol (from http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/691469-smuggled-alcoholic-drinks-on-the-rise-in-thailand/).

This is a good opportunity to alert wine drinkers in Thailand to "blended" wines! See https://surathai.wordpress.com/2015/01/29/imported-not-wine/

Just to proof to you that the article you linked to is WRONG.

Included a picture from a blended wine at Friendshp supermarket, and look at the color of the label. By the way I looked through their stock of blended and "real" wine, and couldn't find a single bottle or box that didn't have a blue label, and they had many fruit wines.

20150829_001147.jpg

Just to prove to you that you did not bother to read the whole article before making assumptions.

"But from now on, orange or blue stamps cannot help us anymore......."

I admit I didn't see that lasy line, but have now read the whole article over and over again. and have come to the conclusion that the whole article states exactly nothing.

So it must have been someone with too much time on his hands, and looked for his 5 minutes of fame, who has written it.

[thailanddogerator]

One phone call and the mibs will say soly soly we are soly we didn't want to make problems !

[JHolmesJr]

With over 30 foreign men but only 20 Thai women it is not the sort of ratio I find fun.

Poor ladies....Sounds like they might be burning the candle at both ends. Edited September 25, 2015 by JHolmesJr

[KittenKong]

See attached photo of the blue label that should be on all imported alcohol (from http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/691469-smuggled-alcoholic-drinks-on-the-rise-in-thailand/).

This is a good opportunity to alert wine drinkers in Thailand to "blended" wines! See https://surathai.wordpress.com/2015/01/29/imported-not-wine/

Just to proof to you that the article you linked to is WRONG.

Included a picture from a blended wine at Friendshp supermarket, and look at the color of the label. By the way I looked through their stock of blended and "real" wine, and couldn't find a single bottle or box that didn't have a blue label, and they had many fruit wines.

How does that work with the box wine such as Mont Clair? I understood that these are made from imported grape juice concentrate (not fruit juice) and fermented here, thus avoiding the alcohol import duty. Dont know how true that is though.

[fish fingers]

This guys parties are probably commercial regular events and the police didn't get their commission

[fish fingers]

With over 30 foreign men but only 20 Thai women it is not the sort of ratio I find fun.

Poor ladies....Sounds like they might be burning the candle at both ends.

Or even 2 at one end

[Robroona]

Cops turn up at a party in the middle of the night. Neighbours complained about the noise. Normally one or two low echelon cops MIGHT get sent to see the problem.

Somehow, in the middle of the night, they find out that a car has no import duty paid on it.

I'm not buying the "neighbours and noise" story. Set up seems more to the point