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Nicked For Drugs On Phangan


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years ago someone got a "deal" offered, he paid quite a substantial sum of money "under the table", got his passport back and was told 'everything is okay"!

Some weeks later, when his visa expired he wanted to check in to a flihgt back home - he got arrested by the immigration!

The reason for his arrest?

There was a drug related court case still pending against him in a Suratthani Court!

Well - it was years ago, he was "lucky" only got fined 5000 baht and had to stay out of Thailand for a year!

How could he tell anyone in court that he paid a bribe and believed he was off the hook...?

Just another story....

Edited by Samuian
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A friend of a friend is sitting in jail in Phangan at the moment after he was caught with small amounts of weed and a few E's. Police have told him he will have to go to court in 2 weeks and offered to let him out of jail in the mean time (minus his passport) for 100,000 baht. This sounds a little high to me. What is the likey outcome? Fine? Jail time?

Sounds very high to me too! Not that I have much experience in such cases.... Is there any lengthy overstay on his visa?

I know an overstay is probably the last of his worries but police maybe less likely to return a passport if the holder has significant, lengthy oversay?

Sounds like a brutal situation for your friend. Given the publicity surrounding drug issues on the island I think they may throw the book at him. Given the publicity surrounding drug issues on the island............ what was he thinking!!??

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That's tantamount to saying anyone who drinks the occasional glass of wine is a Grubby Alcoholic.

Just taking a jab in the dark here Malcolm, but I reakon you've been punched in the head one too many times :o ....just like this twit whos now banged up in a cell without a pot to piss in..so to speak.

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I have no intention of judging this person but it appears clear that whatever the circumstances, he has not handled it well to date.

To me the bad news is that the police will, for Bt100k, let him go without his passport. This amounts to saying that they will let him out on bail. It appears though, that there might be room for negotiation. To the extent that his case has not yet been forwarded to the prosecutor, there clearly is.

Personally, if I was him, I would try and clear up the entire case, rather than saying paying bail and skipping the country. If possible, he would be well advised to record conversations between himself and the police. While minor drug offenses are a serious crime so is police officers demanding money for absolution from that crime. (Some of the recorders on the iphone are particularly good as (1) you can immediately upload the recording to the internet over edge and (2) it establishes the exact geo location at which the conversation takes place.)

(Such gadgetary you might consider a waste of time but in the situation that I had to use it, I can tell you that the police officer was extremely impressed that I could show the exact spot on google earth (namely the police station) at which his offer of 'help' was recorded.)

The most important thing to consider is that (in so far as his case has not proceeded to the prosecutor) it is in both parties mutual self interest to resolve this dispute. (BTW Thai police seem to have a natural grasp of this concept unlike most Thai business men.) As soon as it goes to the prosecutor, there is not much these policemen can do or gain. But ultimately there will almost certainly be a financial and non-legal resolution of the problem available.

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A friend of a friend is sitting in jail in Phangan at the moment after he was caught with small amounts of weed and a few E's. Police have told him he will have to go to court in 2 weeks and offered to let him out of jail in the mean time (minus his passport) for 100,000 baht. This sounds a little high to me. What is the likey outcome? Fine? Jail time?

Is it possible to enlarge on whats ment by ''small amounts'' and '' a few''? It would help us get a handle on what we're talking about here.

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A friend of a friend is sitting in jail in Phangan at the moment after he was caught with small amounts of weed and a few E's. Police have told him he will have to go to court in 2 weeks and offered to let him out of jail in the mean time (minus his passport) for 100,000 baht. This sounds a little high to me. What is the likey outcome? Fine? Jail time?

sounds like bail money which he should get back. he also needs a good lawyer

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I have no intention of judging this person but it appears clear that whatever the circumstances, he has not handled it well to date.

To me the bad news is that the police will, for Bt100k, let him go without his passport. This amounts to saying that they will let him out on bail. It appears though, that there might be room for negotiation. To the extent that his case has not yet been forwarded to the prosecutor, there clearly is.

Personally, if I was him, I would try and clear up the entire case, rather than saying paying bail and skipping the country. If possible, he would be well advised to record conversations between himself and the police. While minor drug offenses are a serious crime so is police officers demanding money for absolution from that crime. (Some of the recorders on the iphone are particularly good as (1) you can immediately upload the recording to the internet over edge and (2) it establishes the exact geo location at which the conversation takes place.)

(Such gadgetary you might consider a waste of time but in the situation that I had to use it, I can tell you that the police officer was extremely impressed that I could show the exact spot on google earth (namely the police station) at which his offer of 'help' was recorded.)

The most important thing to consider is that (in so far as his case has not proceeded to the prosecutor) it is in both parties mutual self interest to resolve this dispute. (BTW Thai police seem to have a natural grasp of this concept unlike most Thai business men.) As soon as it goes to the prosecutor, there is not much these policemen can do or gain. But ultimately there will almost certainly be a financial and non-legal resolution of the problem available.

he needs a local lawyer who knows everybody and the system. police can get trciked by records and gadgets which is why they like to only talk with people they know. he wants to get out of jail then go a negotiate it could take a while. but to clear the case it cost cost maybe 1 mill. A good lawyer will give u all your options but he has a long mountain to climb

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Good place to start is Liz Luxen (http://www.liz-luxen.com), She is a translator who deals with the courts on a daily basis, she knows the system and can advise on best lawyers etc....

Agreed the weed isn't a problem but the E's will be.......

If it was me i would pay whatever it costs to make this go away.... however its probably too late for outright bribery and a court visit is now unavoidable. Deportation is highly likely but it still is possible with the right contacts that the E's could be Tested and found to be "paracetamol", and the immigration can be bought.....

Back in the day (8-10 years ago) the process for a small amount (personal) of weed was as follows.

1. Arrested - stay 3 days in thong sala jail.

2. transfer to suratthani jail, wait 12 days for 1st hearing, released on bail.. ( about 30-40k)

2a. If have local kpg contacts bail could be arranged in phangan thus avoiding 12 days in surat jail.

3. wait upto 3 months for main court appearance.

4. goto court, wait in holding cells till case called. Goto court in handcuffs.

5. Judge hears case, 2000 baht fine.....

6. (this bit is important) TELL JUDGE YOU HAVE NO MONEY

7. Judge sends you back to holding cell.

8. Lawyer pays immigration, then pays fine.

9. You are released....

10. Immigration "lose" your passport, and it turn up in your embassy in about 3-4 weeks.

11. Collect passport, collect bail money, Goto border, pay overstay.... job done nothing else to worry about.......

12 TOTAL COST 35k to immigration, 2k fine, 5-10k lawyer, 20k overstay, 5-10k hotels for kpg friends etc etc

Items 6-9 are important as if you pay the fine straight away without sorting the immigration then you will be sent straight from surat to bkk immigration jail and then deported..... If british then the only way home is on a BA flight business class.... embassy will pay and claim it back.

Things may have changed but procedure will be similar...... Of course the "few" E's will be the biggest problem and will push the prices up. I heard a while ago that a guy got 2 years for 5 E's, true or not i don't know.....................

thats my tuppenceworth.....

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I have no intention of judging this person but it appears clear that whatever the circumstances, he has not handled it well to date.

To me the bad news is that the police will, for Bt100k, let him go without his passport. This amounts to saying that they will let him out on bail. It appears though, that there might be room for negotiation. To the extent that his case has not yet been forwarded to the prosecutor, there clearly is.

Personally, if I was him, I would try and clear up the entire case, rather than saying paying bail and skipping the country. If possible, he would be well advised to record conversations between himself and the police. While minor drug offenses are a serious crime so is police officers demanding money for absolution from that crime. (Some of the recorders on the iphone are particularly good as (1) you can immediately upload the recording to the internet over edge and (2) it establishes the exact geo location at which the conversation takes place.)

(Such gadgetary you might consider a waste of time but in the situation that I had to use it, I can tell you that the police officer was extremely impressed that I could show the exact spot on google earth (namely the police station) at which his offer of 'help' was recorded.)

The most important thing to consider is that (in so far as his case has not proceeded to the prosecutor) it is in both parties mutual self interest to resolve this dispute. (BTW Thai police seem to have a natural grasp of this concept unlike most Thai business men.) As soon as it goes to the prosecutor, there is not much these policemen can do or gain. But ultimately there will almost certainly be a financial and non-legal resolution of the problem available.

Recording such a conversation with the police is a good way of ending up dead. You can't be serious.

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This chap managed to negotiate his release for 70,000 baht. The police 'say' they dropped the more serious drugs charges, but I advise him to get a lawyer just to confirm that the police are telling the truth.

According to my lawyer, skipping the country via Malaysia is a last report.

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A couple of weeks ago I met an Argentinian man who was in Samui after being stopped at a random pull-over in KP after the full-moon party. He had a joint in his fanny-pack. He was allowed to go after posting 40,000 baht (they retained his passport) with a court date in Samui about a week after the "arrest."

He said that he called a friend that he was staying with and a Thai person who was a friend of this person came and spoke with the police. They assured him that the court would fine him around 5,000 baht and return his 40,000 (if he showed up). He was under the impression that the Thai person aided in this process and that he would have had a more difficult time were it not for him.

There was never any indication of being allowed to take his passport with him at any point for any money, but then he didn't offer to contribute to the KP officers charity ball, either.

I think it is pretty well understood that "partying" goes on under the full moon at KP, but I told this fellow -- who said he is never coming to Thailand again -- that a person going to the monthly festivities should never carry anything unlawful on his person. Drinking or ingesting something at the venue is one thing, but having something on your person is inviting disaster.

It might be worth considering that these drugs are most likely being offered to tourists by locals (I have been told by a reliable source that weed is grown on KT). Instead of busting tourists for a joint or a few tabs of E, targeting the growers and sellers would be the logical attack. But given that everyone (or most everyone) is on the take, this will never happen. So these "show arrests" will continue.

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years ago someone got a "deal" offered, he paid quite a substantial sum of money "under the table", got his passport back and was told 'everything is okay"!

Some weeks later, when his visa expired he wanted to check in to a flihgt back home - he got arrested by the immigration!

The reason for his arrest?

There was a drug related court case still pending against him in a Suratthani Court!

Well - it was years ago, he was "lucky" only got fined 5000 baht and had to stay out of Thailand for a year!

How could he tell anyone in court that he paid a bribe and believed he was off the hook...?

Just another story....

yes if u not get a good lawyer then the case will just go back on the shelf and will not be deleted. let the lawyer do all the bargining then make sure u get the signed paper from the prosicution and your bail money back. u might have to pay mored thqan just the police. if i was u i would close this thread becuase the more people that know about this case the harder it is the close

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