Thai Customs hits back after alleged watch smugglers turn to social media

[webfact]

Customs hits back after alleged watch smugglers turn to social media 
By The Nation

 

BANGKOK: -- The Customs Department on Wednesday explained why officials took legal action against two Thai women wearing luxury wristwatches at Suvarnabhumi Airport. 

 

Chaiyuth Kamkhun, deputy director of the department, said Customs officials spotted two Thai women travelling from Hong Kong on May 10. They were wearing watches of the Swiss luxury brands Audemars Piguet and Patek Philippe and were pretending that they were personal belongings, and not being brought into the country for commercial purposes.

 

But the Customs officials suspected that they were smuggling the watches into the country and trying to evade the 5-per-cent tariff. 

 

Chaiyuth said the two women had confessed and were subject to legal charges, but later they posted their stories on social media, accusing officials of exceeding their duties.

 

The market value of the two watches was Bt1.3 million before tax or Bt1.5 million after import and value-added taxes. 

 

According to current Customs regulations, a traveller can bring in goods worth no more than Bt20,000. 

 

Customs officials at Suvarnabhumi Airport over the past two years have caught 239 smugglers with goods worth a combined Bt233 million, Chaiyuth said.

 

Source: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/news/national/30315565

 

-- © Copyright The Nation 2017-05-18

[lovelomsak]

1 hour ago, webfact said:

According to current Customs regulations, a traveller can bring in goods worth no more than Bt20,000. 

 

Using this law many people would have to leave their cellphones at home.or some even their laptop. No gold jewelry,no expensive watches etc. 20,000 baht is not much.

[KhunBENQ]

The ladies did not look hiso enough to own such expensive watches

Long sleeves could have helped.

 

[richard_smith237]

This potentially opens up a whole can of worms for any regular traveller... 

 

Any watch of note or a laptop, Camera, tablet, phone, handbags can now be taxed at the whim of a customs officer unless you have a receipt of purchase in Thailand.... 

 

IF these were watch smugglers, the would surely have more than one watch on their possession. 

 

I don't believe they confessed openly, this comes across very much as coercion. The customs also confiscated these 1.2 Million Baht watches (as reported in Panthip.com)... something really stinks here. 

 

It is perhaps time these antiquated laws are modified to reflect some intelligent thought before Thai Customs make an international example of themselves. 

 

----------------

 

I have numerous luxury watches, I sometimes travel back to the UK with 3 watches (Eg. Panerai, Rolex, Bell & Ross), Plus a MacBook, iPad, iPhone... heck even my Tumi carry on case is worth more than 20,000 baht....

 

Returning back to Thailand just became potentially more hassle, and for what? what real benefit for the authorities?

 

Catch smugglers by all means - but use intelligence: These items should be boxed, new, unopened and in most cases being carried in numbers. 

 

 

[trogers]

38 minutes ago, lovelomsak said:

Using this law many people would have to leave their cellphones at home.or some even their laptop. No gold jewelry,no expensive watches etc. 20,000 baht is not much.

Easy to know if your smartphone and laptop are for personal use by looking into the data banks.

 

Those who wear expensive jewelry and gold for travel and tour deserve to lose them. Why the need to show off?

[richard_smith237]

3 minutes ago, trogers said:

Easy to know if your smartphone and laptop are for personal use by looking into the data banks.

 

Those who wear expensive jewelry and gold for travel and tour deserve to lose them. Why the need to show off?

 

Please explain why I deserve to lose my Watch when I fly back home to the UK or return to Bangkok?

 

Also, a watch is not quite the same as the chunky gold necklace on display with the singlet in Pattaya and elevated risk of a snatch. That said, there are areas I would choose not to wear a decent watch, but these are not in Thailand.

 

Does someone who drives a BMW, Mercedes or Bentley also deserve to have them stolen? 

 

You may think someone who wears a nice watch is showing off, but that perhaps suggests you would be showing off should you choose to wear a nice watch and project this attitude onto others. This says more about you than the 'watch wearer'... additionally, the 'no need to wear a watch when I have a phone comment' has been done to death in other threads. 

 

For others, they are simply wearing a watch they like, much like wearing the T-shirt or shoes they like, having their hair cut to the style they like. 

 

 

[arkom]

They obviously didn't have the right connections, a couple months ago at the Starbucks at CDC I saw a lady with at least 10 shopping bags from LV, Chanel, Gucci and Prada ect., she was obviously there to deliver them to people who "preordered" them as there was a steady stream of people picking them up.

Edited May 18, 2017 by arkom

[trogers]

5 minutes ago, richard_smith237 said:

 

Please explain why I deserve to lose my Watch when I fly back home to the UK or return to Bangkok?

 

Also, a watch is not quite the same as the chunky gold necklace on display with the singlet in Pattaya and elevated risk of a snatch. That said, there are areas I would choose not to wear a decent watch, but these are not in Thailand.

 

Does someone who drives a BMW, Mercedes or Bentley also deserve to have them stolen? 

 

You may think someone who wears a nice watch is showing off, but that perhaps suggests you would be showing off should you choose to wear a nice watch and project this attitude onto others. This says more about you than the 'watch wearer'... additionally, the 'no need to wear a watch when I have a phone comment' has been done to death in other threads. 

 

For others, they are simply wearing a watch they like, much like wearing the T-shirt or shoes they like, having their hair cut to the style they like. 

 

 

Yes, you deserve to lose the luxury car too if you need to bring them along for your tour to Thailand...do you?

[richard_smith237]

5 minutes ago, trogers said:

Yes, you deserve to lose the luxury car too if you need to bring them along for your tour to Thailand...do you?

 

haha... you missed my point in that it seems your point is anyone with a luxury item deserves to lose it... 

 

So please explain why you think I deserve to lose my watch when flying in and out of Thailand ?

[richard_smith237]

Reading the Panthip forum...  there is more information. 

 

It turns out that the Watches these women were wearing still had the 'label' on them... 

They had the boxes in their bags. 

Customs had profiled them as having 'done this before'.

 

If so, I side with Customs on doing their job... 

 

 

That said: the 20,000 baht limit on goods needs to specify brand new items, not just anything valued over 20,000 baht for we all potentially run the risk of falling foul of a sticky officer. 

[leeneeds]

No smarties were used here,

[trogers]

49 minutes ago, richard_smith237 said:

 

haha... you missed my point in that it seems your point is anyone with a luxury item deserves to lose it... 

 

So please explain why you think I deserve to lose my watch when flying in and out of Thailand ?

Read what I wrote again...

 

"Those who wear expensive jewelry and gold for travel and tour deserve to lose them. Why the need to show off?"

[richard_smith237]

53 minutes ago, trogers said:

Read what I wrote again...

 

"Those who wear expensive jewelry and gold for travel and tour deserve to lose them. Why the need to show off?"

 

Do you think  I deserve to lose my 'expensive watch' when I travel to Thailand or back to the UK?

 

It really is a very simple question and is in direct response to your comments (I already responded to your 'showing off' comments). 

[trogers]

3 minutes ago, richard_smith237 said:

 

Do you think  I deserve to lose my 'expensive watch' when I travel to Thailand or back to the UK?

 

It really is a very simple question and is in direct response to your comments (I already responded to your 'showing off' comments). 

Which is your home and which is your holiday destination?

 

So why do you need to strap an expensive watch for your travel? A plastic Casio works too...

[clockman]

Customs department have big protectors. What ever happened to the 300 cars. That went missing? Never explained?

[richard_smith237]

55 minutes ago, trogers said:

Which is your home and which is your holiday destination?

 

So why do you need to strap an expensive watch for your travel? A plastic Casio works too...

 

Still can't answer why I deserve to lose my watch ?

 

Thailand is home, UK is for 6-8 weeks a year for Winter and Summer visits... plus a year Japan trip and many trips to Singapore...   Do I actually deserve to lose my watch on any of these trips ?

 

The reason I'm trying to nail you down on this 'deserve' comment, is that I think you are so very wrong, no one deserves to lose or be robbed of anything. 

Of course, when applying common sense, it could be argued that it could be 'expected' or 'predictable' that we 'could' lose something, it may even be silly of us to choose to wear an expensive watch, say somewhere like Cococabana Brazil... so common sense can be applied...

 

Perhaps you are referring to guys who are wear big gold necklaces on Pattaya Beach Road and get them snatched by a thief on a passing motorcycle....  these guys don't deserve to lose their valuables, they may be guilty of naivety... but they don't deserve to be victims of crime much in the same way a girl wearing a short skirt doesn't deserve to the victim of assault, however, she could have made safer choices in an imperfect world. 

 

So perhaps what you meant to write is that when traveling we could make safer choices in protection of our valuable belongings.... And I do... I don't expect to be robbed of my watch in the areas I go to in UK or Bangkok and I certainly don't expect a customs officer to try and tax me for a personal possession when traveling back and forth. 

 

 

 

[richard_smith237]

1 hour ago, trogers said:

Which is your home and which is your holiday destination?

 

So why do you need to strap an expensive watch for your travel? A plastic Casio works too...

 

It has nothing to with need... I simply can, I like watches, I like cars... they are my thing. I can so I do. 

My Wife likes jewelry, handbags, getting her nails and hair done... she can so she does... 

 

In reality, we don't even need a plastic Casio, although I do find my Apple Watch extremely useful, more so than the conventional 'luxury watches'...  its still nice to wear something of high end quality now and again. 

 

The same for well tailored suit, a quality shirt and good pair of shoes... its just nice to wear on the right occasion. 

 

Of course, not everyone will understand this, not everyone can. Perhaps people are jealous of others who have more, or perhaps they simply don't understand why... One thing is certain, we are all different in our opinions, behavior and attitudes....  

.......I welcome these differences, but in this case, only up to the point someone argues that someone else deserves to be the victim of a crime or lose their belonging simply because of its value... in this case you are simply wrong. 

 

 

Yet, you still can't answer 'why I deserve to lose something while traveling'....  

 

Do you also deserve to lose your Casio when traveling ?

 

 

 

[KhunBENQ]

3 hours ago, richard_smith237 said:

Reading the Panthip forum...  there is more information. 

 

It turns out that the Watches these women were wearing still had the 'label' on them... 

They had the boxes in their bags. 

Customs had profiled them as having 'done this before'.

 

If so, I side with Customs on doing their job... 

 

 

That said: the 20,000 baht limit on goods needs to specify brand new items, not just anything valued over 20,000 baht for we all potentially run the risk of falling foul of a sticky officer. 

With label attached and box in handbag.

Not the brightest candles on the cake.

 

Now that makes sense and pays well for a HK excursion.

[trogers]

28 minutes ago, richard_smith237 said:

 

It has nothing to with need... I simply can, I like watches, I like cars... they are my thing. I can so I do. 

My Wife likes jewelry, handbags, getting her nails and hair done... she can so she does... 

 

In reality, we don't even need a plastic Casio, although I do find my Apple Watch extremely useful, more so than the conventional 'luxury watches'...  its still nice to wear something of high end quality now and again. 

 

The same for well tailored suit, a quality shirt and good pair of shoes... its just nice to wear on the right occasion. 

 

Of course, not everyone will understand this, not everyone can. Perhaps people are jealous of others who have more, or perhaps they simply don't understand why... One thing is certain, we are all different in our opinions, behavior and attitudes....  

.......I welcome these differences, but in this case, only up to the point someone argues that someone else deserves to be the victim of a crime or lose their belonging simply because of its value... in this case you are simply wrong. 

 

 

Yet, you still can't answer 'why I deserve to lose something while traveling'....  

 

Do you also deserve to lose your Casio when traveling ?

 

 

 

I am prepared to lose a Casio should it be a great temptation to the desperate locals among whom I am having a vacation.

 

But I guess they would be too smart to expend such energies for my Casio when there is a Rolex nearby...

[Bluespunk]

6 hours ago, webfact said:

According to current Customs regulations, a traveller can bring in goods worth no more than Bt20,000. 

 

That's just stupid

[how241]

They want quality tourist, don't they ?

[Bluespunk]

4 hours ago, trogers said:

Easy to know if your smartphone and laptop are for personal use by looking into the data banks.

 

Those who wear expensive jewelry and gold for travel and tour deserve to lose them. Why the need to show off?

Because they have worked hard for something and want the world to know it?

 

Seems fair enough to me.

[trogers]

1 minute ago, Bluespunk said:

Because they have worked hard for something and want the world to know it?

 

Seems fair enough to me.

Seems working hard and being smart are too different things. Why paint oneself as a target?

 

One can show off freely among one's peers on home ground. One would not know the ground conditions of holiday destinations.

[SABloke]

Which is your home and which is your holiday destination?
 
So why do you need to strap an expensive watch for your travel? A plastic Casio works too...

Maybe one man's expensive watch is another man's...well...just a watch. I think my watch was 11 000 Baht. I don't consider it an expensive watch, because it isn't, but the gardener in my complex might I wonder if he think I'm stupid or showing off when I wear it on holiday.

[trogers]

7 minutes ago, SABloke said:

 

Maybe one man's expensive watch is another man's...well...just a watch. I think my watch was 11 000 Baht. I don't consider it an expensive watch, because it isn't, but the gardener in my complex might I wonder if he think I'm stupid or showing off when I wear it on holiday.

 

What your gardener thinks don't apply when you are on vacation. It's what the locals think that matters.

 

Remember, there are people here robbing coin slots of washing machines...

 

So, why would you wear and display stuff of over Bt20,000 when coming here for a holiday?

Edited May 18, 2017 by trogers

[richard_smith237]

27 minutes ago, trogers said:

I am prepared to lose a Casio should it be a great temptation to the desperate locals among whom I am having a vacation.

 

But I guess they would be too smart to expend such energies for my Casio when there is a Rolex nearby...

 

You're still avoiding the 'deserve' question....  I guess because you can't answer it without admitting the comment was wrong. 

 

I understand the point you are trying to make in that with more valuable belongings we risk greater loss... especially if traveling to areas of a known higher crime rate. But that doesn't mean anyone deserves to be the victim of a crime... prepared, they should be... Predict, they could. Take measures to avoid, they can...... but deserve ? no... 

Edited May 18, 2017 by richard_smith237

[SABloke]

deleted

[SABloke]

That's just stupid

UK is 390 Pounds (only 17 500 Baht).

[trogers]

2 minutes ago, richard_smith237 said:

 

You're still avoid the 'deserve' question....  I guess because you can't answer it without admitting the comment was wrong. 

 

I understand the point you are trying to make in that with more valuable belongings we risk greater loss... especially if traveling to areas of a known higher crime rate. But that doesn't mean anyone deservers to be the victim of a crime... prepared, they should be... Predict, they could. Take measures to avoid, they can...... but deserve ? no... 

Deserve is a subjective word.

 

And in my opinion, the guy who climbed the fence into a pride of lions deserve the consequence. He knows the risk and he should not ask why he becomes a victim.

[richard_smith237]

4 minutes ago, SABloke said:

 

UK is 390 Pounds (only 17 500 Baht).

 

 

Yep - the UK Customs have equally archaic and idiotic regulations.... I guess these types of regulation are never modified or altered as that would take effort and be of no financial benefit to Customs and Excise (in any country).