THAICRIME

Ms Sandiford to be executed for drug trafficking.

2013-01-22T02:22:00.001-08:00

Lindsay Sandiford was arrested in May last year after she tried to enter the Indonesian holiday island with illegal drugs worth £1.6 million hidden in her suitcase.

Local prosecutors had called for the 56-year-old housewife to be jailed for 15 years. But today there were gasps in the Bali courtroom when a panel of judges announced Ms Sandiford would be executed for drug trafficking.

As the shock verdict was announced, Ms Sandiford, from Gloucestershire, slumped back in her chair in tears before hiding her face with a brown sarong as she was led out of the courtroom.

Breaking Free of the Co-dependency Trap presents a groundbreaking developmental road map to guide readers away from their co-dependent behaviors and toward a life of wholeness and fulfillment.

2012-08-13T02:06:00.001-07:00

Breaking Free of the Co-dependency Trap presents a groundbreaking developmental road map to guide readers away from their co-dependent behaviors and toward a life of wholeness and fulfillment.UK Citizens

This is the book that offers a different perspective on codependency and is strongly recommended by Dream Warrior Recovery as part of a solution based recovery. This bestselling book, now in a revised edition, radically challenges the prevailing medical definition of co-dependency as a permanent, progressive, and incurable addiction. Rather, the authors identify it as the result of developmental traumas that interfered with the infant-parent bonding relationship during the first year of life.US Citizens

Drawing on decades of clinical experience, Barry and Janae Weinhold correlate the developmental causes of co-dependency with relationship problems later in life, such as establishing and maintaining boundaries, clinging and dependent behaviors, people pleasing, and difficulty achieving success in the world. Then they focus on healing co-dependency, providing compelling case histories and practical activities to help readers heal early trauma and transform themselves and their primary relationships.

The number of Britons arrested overseas is on the rise, official figures have shown.

2012-07-01T06:43:00.001-07:00

The Foreign Office (FO) handled 6,015 arrest cases involving British nationals abroad between April 2011 and March 2012. This was 6% more than in the previous 12 months and included a 2% rise in drug arrests. The figures, which include holidaymakers and Britons resident overseas, showed the highest number of arrests and detentions was in Spain (1,909) followed by the USA (1,305). Spanish arrests rose 9% in 2011/12, while the United States was up 3%. The most arrests of Britons for drugs was in the US (147), followed by Spain (141). The highest percentage of arrests for drugs in 2011/12 was in Peru where there were only 17 arrests in total, although 15 were for drugs. The FO said anecdotal evidence from embassies and consulates overseas suggested many incidents were alcohol-fuelled, particularly in popular holiday destinations such as the Canary Islands, mainland Spain, the Balearics (which include Majorca and Ibiza), Malta and Cyprus. Consular Affairs Minister Jeremy Browne said: "It is important that people understand that taking risks abroad can land them on the wrong side of the law. "The punishments can be very severe, with tougher prison conditions than in the UK. While we will work hard to try and ensure the safety of British nationals abroad, we cannot interfere in another country's legal system. "We find that many people are shocked to discover that the Foreign and Commonwealth Office cannot get them out of jail. We always provide consular support to British nationals in difficulty overseas. However, having a British passport does not make you immune to foreign laws and will not get you special treatment in prison."

Pattaya Cops Nab US Man With Three Fake Credit Cards

2012-06-20T23:00:00.001-07:00

Pattaya police Transnational Crime Coordination Center division arrested a U.S. citizen using fake cards to withdraw money from ATM machines. Bank of Ayudhya loses one million THB.

PATTAYA – May 4, 2012 [PDN]; Pol. Lt. Col. Chitdecha Songhong and Pol. Capt. Prajakphong Suriya were notified by Mr. Satit Kalanuson, an officer of Bank of Ayudhya bank about a foreigner using fake credit cards to withdraw money from ATM machines.

From the CCTV footage the police identified the suspect as he was standing in front of the Bank of Ayudhya ATM unit in South Pattaya, Banglamung, Chonburi province.

Pattaya police rushed to inspect the suspect and having received permission to body search him they found a British passport issued to Mr. Brood Thomas and fake credit cards: one UOB gold card number 4313-0724-1328-9375.

One black UOB: card number 4313-0714-5174-5025 and one fake City Bank gold card: number 4313-0771-7608-9284

All the three cards were as seized as evidence and the suspect was detained and will face further investigation at Pattaya police station.

Later after being interrogated the suspect confessed that he is a U.S. citizen: name Mr. Robert Warren Stanberry JR age 64. His U.S. passport was found in his room in Soi Buakhao.

Mr. Robert Warren Stanberry JR confessed that all the credit cards were the fake. He had received them from a Thai man named “Tom” from Khaosarn road in Bangkok. No surname. Mr. Roberts and Tom’s modus operandi, to withdraw money from the banks or the ATM units and divide the money.

The fake British passport was used together with the fake credit cards to withdraw cash from banks.

Mr. Robert Warren Stanberry JR is charged with ATM fraud and possession of a fake passport.

A Prisoner Locked Up For 13 Years Makes 700,000 THB Dealing & Wheeling

2012-06-20T22:57:00.001-07:00

A man called “Ton”, aged 40 was sentenced to 13 years prison for drug offences. The court of first sentenced him to life in prison but the sentence was later reduced to 13 years.

He said that money was not important for people in jail, so they used money to buy anything they wanted both goods and services.

He had been in jail many years when he saw an opportunity to make many.He began with washing prisoners’ clothes.He had had 40-50 clients. 300 THB per month per prisoner.He said it was easy since the prisoners’ clothes were thin and there were just 2 shirts and shorts per day per prisoner.

And the second work was standing in line to receive meals, he had 4-5 clients, he charged 300 baht per month per a prisoner.

“Ton” said prisoners who wanted any kind of goods he had to go to the dealers, pay them receive the goods later. In jail, the rules forbid cell phones but right after the new i-Phone arrived on the market it would be available in the prison a few days later, but the price was 80,000 THB.

The iPad was too big, hard to hide so it was not popular.

Some of prisoners were in jail because they had been minor drug dealers but when they were put in jail they transformed in to big drug dealers. Because they met the “real” drug dealer who would teach them about the agents, transportations, how to call their bosses, how to send and how to receive.

He said he did not have to use money in jail, he had money saved up and when he was free he had 700,000 baht.

His wife had left him and re-married 5 years ago.

For “Ton” what is most important, right now is his of mother whom he wants to look after.

Mysterious Death of Canadian Sisters Poisonous Mushroom Suspected

2012-06-20T22:55:00.001-07:00

The two Canadians Miss Noemi Balenger, 26, and her sister, Miss Audrey, 20, we're found dead in their room on Phi Phi Palm Resident on Phi Phi island on June 15. The case is under investigation. Next post mortem examination in Bangkok.

KRABI – June 17, 2012 [PDN]; Pol.Maj.Gen.Jamroon Ruenrom- commissioner of Krabi police conducted a forensic investigation of room #103. The police did not find any trace of violence but found several pills in the room. Including Ibuprofen an anti-inflammatory drug which should be taken with precaution and should not be mixed with alcohol.

Pol.Maj.Gen.Jamroon could not conclude the cause of their death, they have to wait for the autopsy at the Royal Thai Police hospital in Bangkok.

There are many pubs that serves a popular cocktail which is made from mushrooms. A tourist said that there were special mushrooms on the menu on Pangan island and Samui island and and also on Phi Phi island. Local name is “Khee Kwai ” or magic mushroom, which is popular among tourists. When consumed, this kind of mushroom will cause heavy intoxication.

Inmates at Rayong Central Prison have Assistance with Smuggling Contraband and Drugs

2012-06-20T22:54:00.001-07:00

The height of a prisons’ walls are unable to separate the prisoners from the outside world. Sometimes the prisons become the murderers or drug dealers' Headquarters. They should be the cleanest places , if the Prison Authorities are honest, truthful and upstanding Thai citizens, but unfortunately they are not as some of the authorities are as corrupt as the prisoners that they house and guard.

Thai society expects that prisons should be the place that control the prisoners and through discipline and guidance, turn the prisoners away from their previous criminal activities, When and if the prisoners are released back in to Thai society, they should be reformed and fully equipped to serve the Thai community and Thailand as a whole. The Thai prison authorities have a legal and moral obligation to reform the prisoners during their incarceration. The media have suggested that Thai Prisons are a hub for murders, drug dealers, drug addicts, thieves and rapists free to continue their illegal and criminal activities from behind the prison walls, no matter how high the walls are.

Mr. Udom Rattanapokin Director of Rayong Central Prison, stated that there were 925 female prisoners, and 4,655 male prisoners currently incarcerated and almost all of them had been arrested and convicted of drug offences. In Rayong Prison there were many contraband items being smuggled in to the prison. The authorities have implemented strict rules, such as at the entrance and exit doors, vehicles entering and exiting, people, parcels and, postal items were all scanned. Numerous chemicals and communication devices were still finding a way in to the Prison.

Many items were discovered hidden in all manner of postal items, such as in powder boxes, lotion bottles, instant noodles, pens, or stationeries. In the case of hiding contraband in the postal items the authorities would open the item in front of the prisoners and check the senders information and question the prisoners to see if they know the sender of the postal items,

Catapults were discovered and are being used to shoot items over the prison walls, knots tied with ropes being pulled into the prisons, and the latest discovery is air cocking buckets, almost of them are made from old fire extinguishers. The buckets are air tight and using air pressure at 120 pound, the projectiles used are plastic bottles that contain mobile phones, or various other items of contraband, This is the most popular way to get mobile phones in the prison as the projectile can hold 6 phones at a time. These homemade mortars can fire a projectile approximately 100-200 meters. The projectiles are fired in to all areas of the prison, as the area they are fired into resembles a jungle. The projectiles are fired day and night,. The mortar deliverer has previously set the required direction and then made their escape. The authorities captured many of the culprits and confiscated over 50 mobile telephones as evidence.

The authorities have cooperated with the Provincial Post Office and liaised with the Provincial Governor to inspect all the parcels that were bound for the Prisons and to examine all delivery documents and copies of ID cards that were attached to the parcels. An issue was found that when parcels are sent through Private Service Postal Agents, these agents do not have to disclose their ID cards’ copies. Presently all Post Offices have announced that following a Resolution from the Department of Corrections, that from 16 March, there would be no more parcel sending to inmates. There had been approximately 200-300 boxes being sent to inmates per day and that there wasn’t enough manpower in Rayong Central Prison to inspect them all.

Rayong Central Prison is capable of holding 2,600 prisoners, but in reality it houses over 5,580 prisoners. The cells should accommodate no more than 35 inmates but are holding 75 inmates. The Custodians are unable to deal with the overcrowding and each of the prisoners had been convicted and sentenced for committing serious offences. The Authorities have difficulty trying to control the inmates due to overcrowding and smuggling of contraband.

The Prison realises there are major issues and are doing their upmost to stamp out greed and corruption from within the Prison Authority.

Australian tourist killed in Phuket armed robbery

2012-06-20T22:38:00.001-07:00

One Australian tourist was killed while another was seriously wounded in an armed robbery on the grounds of their hotel in Phuket Wednesday night. Michelle Elizabeim, 60, was fatally stabbed in the compound of the Katathani Phuket Beach Resort, an upmarket tourist hotel at Kata Beach in the provincial seat. Her companion, not identified but also an Australian tourist, was severely wounded and remains hospitalised. A preliminary police investigation found that two men on a motorcycle, aged between 18-25 years old, followed the tourists as they walked back to their hotel from a restaurant. One of the men snatched Ms Elizabeim’s handbag, but the victims fought back and the attackers stabbed them. The men fled and are still at large, but a surveillance camera captured their images. The two tourists arrived in Phuket yesterday afternoon and planned to stay for one month. Hotel staff said they came to Phuket every year.

Singapore authorities urged to save Malaysian man from execution

2012-05-10T23:01:00.001-07:00

Yong was 19 when he was first arrested for possessing 47g of heroin in 2007

A young Malaysian man under threat of imminent execution in Singapore for drug trafficking should be granted clemency, Amnesty International and the Anti-Death Penalty Asia Network (ADPAN) have said.

Yong Vui Kong, who was 19 when he was first arrested for possessing 47g of heroin in 2007, has no other options left.

On 4 April, the Supreme Court rejected his third and final appeal, which was made on the basis he was subjected to unequal treatment before the law.

“Countries around the world have abolished the mandatory death penalty because it does not allow courts to consider the circumstances of the defendant and the crime - Yong Vui Kong must be spared this cruel and degrading punishment,” said Lance Lattig, Amnesty International's Singapore researcher.

In an open letter, Amnesty International and ADPAN urged the Minister for Law and Foreign Affairs and other Cabinet members to intervene and recommend clemency for Yong Vui Kong, to establish a moratorium on the death penalty and suspend executions.

Clemency granted by the President, following advice from the Cabinet, is Yong’s last hope.

Yong’s lawyer cited the Singapore attorney general's decision not to prosecute the alleged mastermind of the drug operation, dropping 26 charges against the Singaporean who was Yong’s boss.

"The Boss of the drugs syndicate has had the charges against him dropped, while Yong Vui Kong, poor and only 19 at the time of his arrest, will be put to death. No enlightened legal system could justify this result," said Mr. M. Ravi, counsel for Yong Vui Kong and ADPAN member.

Yong was sentenced to death in 2008 under Singapore’s Misuse of Drugs Act, which requires the death penalty for anyone caught with more than 15g of heroin.

The case has sparked concern around the world. In Malaysia, Foreign Minister Anifah Aman and legislators requested the Singaporean authorities to grant clemency in 2010.

The President of Singapore can only grant a presidential pardon upon the advice of the Cabinet.

Clemency for a death sentence has only been granted six times since independence in 1965.

Amnesty International opposes the death penalty in all cases and without reservation.

2012-04-17T00:32:00.001-07:00

British terror supergrass sentence cut by two years

2012-04-16T09:50:00.001-07:00

jailed British terrorist has had his sentence cut by two years in a supergrass deal after giving evidence about an al Qaeda-linked “martyrdom” plot in New York, it was revealed today. Former teacher Saajid Badat was jailed for 13 years in 2005 for plotting with shoe bomber Richard Reid to blow up a transatlantic airliner in 2001 in what an Old Bailey judge said was a “wicked and inhuman” plot. He has now had his term reduced by two years under the first “supergrass” deal involving a terror convict, after providing intelligence to US prosecutors investigating an alleged plot to blow up the New York subway on the eighth anniversary of the 9/11 attack. Details of the deal — kept secret for more than two years — were revealed today by the Crown Prosecution Service as a trial of the alleged al Qaeda plotters began in New York. Defendant Adis Medanjanin, a 27-year-old Bosnian-born US citizen, is charged with conspiring to use a weapon of mass destruction, conspiring to commit murder in a foreign country, and providing “material support” to al Qaeda. He is said to have had terrorist training in Pakistan in 2008 and then returned to begin a plot to use beauty parlour chemicals to blow up the subway. Badat, from Gloucester, joined Reid’s shoe bomb conspiracy but pulled out at the last minute.

Western embassies targeted in Afghanistan attacks

2012-04-15T07:37:00.001-07:00

Gunmen have launched multiple attacks across the Afghan capital Kabul. Western embassies in the heavily-guarded, central diplomatic area are understood to be among the targets as well as the parliament building in the west. There are reports that up to seven different locations have been hit. The Taliban has admitted responsibility, saying their main targets were the British and German embassies. There is no word at this stage on any casualties.

Taliban free hundreds from Pakistan prison

2012-04-15T07:31:00.001-07:00

Hundreds of prisoners are believed to have escaped from a jail in northwest Pakistan after it was attacked by anti-government fighters armed with guns and rocket-propelled grenades. Some of those who escaped from the facility in the town of Bannu, in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, early on Sunday morning were "militants", an intelligence official told the Reuters news agency. "Dozens of militants attacked Bannu's Central Jail in the early hours of the morning, and more 300 prisoners have escaped," Mir Sahib Jan, the official, said. In Depth Profile: Pakistani Taliban "There was intense gunfire, and rocket-propelled grenades were also used." Many of those who escaped following the raid were convicted Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) fighters, Al Jazeera's Kamal Hyder reported from Lahore. A prison official in Bannu confirmed that "384 prisoners have escaped". A police official identified one of the inmates who escaped as a "dangerous prisoner", who took part in one of the attempts to kill the former president, Pervez Musharraf. The TTP, an umbrella organisation for anti-government groups that are loosely allied with the Taliban in Afghanistan and al-Qaeda, took responsibility for the attack. A spokesman for Hakeemullah Mehsud, TTP's leader, confirmed to Al Jazeera that the group was responsible for the attack. Another Taliban spokesman told Reuters: "We have freed hundreds of our comrades in Bannu in this attack. Several of our people have reached their destinations, others are on their way.". Our correspondent said the attack took place in the early morning and had resulted in an exchange of fire that had left several people wounded. "After the attack the paramilitary and regular military forces came to that location and tried to surround the area," he said. "They have arrested up to a dozen men, but most of the people have indeed escaped." The injured were rushed to a local hospital in Bannu. Sources told Al Jazeera that as many as 150 fighters were involved in the attack. After blowing up the gates of the main prison at around 1:30am local time (20:30 GMT on Saturday), they entered the compound and freed the inmates, the sources said. The attackers had arranged for the transportation of the inmates from the facility. A police official told Reuters that Bannu's Central Jail held 944 prisoners in total, and that six cell blocks had been targeted in the attack.

Canadian man detained in Spain 'extremely thin and weak,'

2012-04-03T04:43:00.001-07:00

Philip Halliday, the Nova Scotia man who has been detained in Spain for more than two years on drug-trafficking charges without a trial date, is extremely weak and thin but in good spirits, his family said Monday, hours after returning home from their first visit to him in jail. "It was pretty emotional. It's hard to describe. Definitely a lot of hugs, some tears," Halliday's son, Daren, told Postmedia News. Philip Halliday, 55, was arrested in December 2009 about 300 kilometres off the coast of Spain aboard a converted Canadian Coast Guard research vessel, the Destiny Empress. Inside a hidden compartment, authorities found more than 1,000 kilograms of cocaine with an estimated street value of $600 million. Halliday, an ex-fisherman who spent more than 30 years dragging scallops off the sea floor, insists he had no idea the drugs were onboard and believed he was simply delivering the vessel to a new owner. Daren Halliday said he, his older brother Cody, and their mother Sheree, were able to spend several hours with Philip in a private room over a span of two days. Recalling the first moments they laid eyes on their father, Daren said, "I don't know if there was a lot said. We hugged him pretty quick. Told him it was good to see him, that we missed him and how much we love him." One thing that was readily apparent to everyone was how much weight Philip, dressed in a buttoned-up shirt and blue jeans, had lost. Since landing in jail, he has had to have his gall bladder removed. He has also had problems with his liver and kidneys. "I thought I'd prepared myself for what Philip would look like, but I must admit I was shocked," Sheree later recalled in a Facebook posting. "He is extremely thin and weak. He walks like an elderly man and is quite emotional." "But," Sheree added, "he still has that beautiful smile that I've missed! And he hasn't lost his sense of humour." Philip was able to buy some pop, juice, chips and some sweets for the occasion, turning it into something of a family picnic, Sheree recalled. Daren said family members peppered Philip with questions about what life was like in jail. Philip, in turn, asked about life back home in Digby, N.S. The family brought Philip some novels, Sudoku game books and some clothes, including a T-shirt that said "Canada" that one of Philip's fellow inmates had requested. Philip gave the family a duffle bag full of letters that people had written to him to bring home. On the third day of their visit, the family was only able to communicate with Philip through a glass partition. "We couldn't physically touch him," Daren said. "He was on a phone. We talked through a mic. Like the movies, we put our hands on the glass. "There was a hallway he had to walk down. And one we walked down. We waved goodbye. And that was it. That was pretty hard." Family and friends back home have been pleading with Canadian officials to help get Halliday released — or at least to get a trial date set. "We're hoping to get him a quick and fair trial, to speed things up," Daren said. "It's very frustrating that nothing's changed." The amount of time someone spends in pre-trial detention varies widely across the European Union. Some countries, including Spain, can hold someone for up to four years, while other countries don't have a limit. Canadian foreign affairs officials have said that while this country cannot interfere with the judicial proceedings of another country, they have been pressing Spanish authorities for a timely and transparent trial. So far, the Halliday family has incurred $90,000 in legal fees and has had to sell their home in Digby. Family friend Peter Dickie said Monday that a Halliday Family Support Society has been formed with the goal of raising $250,000 to help cover expenses.

$10 mln bounty on LeT founder Hafiz Saeed

2012-04-03T04:35:00.001-07:00

The United States has put up a $10 million reward to help arrest Pakistani Islamist leader Hafiz Mohammad Saeed, suspected of masterminding two spectacular attacks on Mumbai and the parliament building in New Delhi. The offer comes at a time of heightened tension between Washington and Pakistan and increases pressure on Pakistan to take action against the former Arabic scholar, who has recently addressed rallies despite an Interpol warrant against him. India has long called for Saeed's arrest and said the bounty - one of the highest on offer - was a sign the United States understood its security concerns. Only last week Saeed evaded police to address an anti-U.S. rally in Islamabad. "India welcomes this new initiative of the government of the United States," External Affairs Minister S.M. Krishna said on Tuesday of the reward announced on the U.S. Rewards for Justice website. "In recent years, India and the United States have moved much closer than ever before in our common endeavour of fighting terrorists." The United States only offers a $10 million reward for three other people it suspects of terrorism, with a single reward of up to $25 million for Egyptian-born Al Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri. Saeed, 61, is suspected of masterminding numerous terrorist attacks, including the November 2008 Mumbai attacks. Poor train commuters, foreigners and some of India's wealthy business elite were killed by 10 Pakistani gunmen in a three-day rampage through some of Mumbai's best-known landmarks, including two luxury hotels and a Jewish centre. A total of 166 people died, including six U.S. citizens. In the 1990s, he founded Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), or the Army of the Pure, one of the largest and best-funded Islamist militant organisations in South Asia. He abandoned its leadership after India blamed it and another militant group for an attack on the parliament in December 2001. Saeed, released from prison by a Pakistani court in 2010, now heads an Islamic charity that the United Nations says is a front for the militant group. LeT was nurtured by Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) spy agency to fight India in disputed Kashmir and analysts say it is still unofficially tolerated by Pakistan, though it was banned in the country in 2002. Admiral Robert Willard, the head of the United States military's Pacific Command, last year expressed concern over the expanding reach of LeT, saying it was no longer solely focused on India, or even in South Asia.

Pakistani Taliban training Frenchmen

2012-03-25T07:26:00.001-07:00

Pakistani intelligence officials say dozens of French Muslims have been training with the Taliban in northwest Pakistan. The officials said on Saturday they were investigating whether Mohamed Merah, a Frenchman of Algerian descent suspected of killing seven people in southern France, had been part of this group. Merah traveled to Pakistan in 2011 and said he trained with al-Qaida in Waziristan. He was killed in a gunfight with police Thursday in the French city of Toulouse. The officials said 85 Frenchmen have been training with the Pakistani Taliban in the North Waziristan tribal area for the past three years. Most have dual nationality with France and North African countries. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to talk to the media.

British man, wife killed at Thai resort

2012-03-14T10:11:00.001-07:00

POLICE say a British man and his Thai wife have been robbed and beaten to death at a seaside resort south of Bangkok. Police Major General Wichean Tantawiriya says three Thai men - a security guard and chef at the resort and their friend - were arrested today and had confessed to killing the couple and taking a mobile phone and 5000 baht ($155). Wichean says the bodies of Michael Raymond, 68, and Suchada Bowkamdee, 52, were discovered yesterday in their bungalow at the Jack Beach Resort in Prachuap Khiri Khan province, 350km south of Bangkok. He says they had checked in a day earlier. Wichean says two of the three suspects were addicted to methamphetamine, a stimulant, and needed money to buy drugs.

Spanish tax authorities are cracking down on tax offenders

2012-03-04T04:41:00.001-08:00

Hacienda has announced it will be keeping a close eye on fiscal engineering from e-commerce firms trading on the Internet. The Agencia Tributaría will also be keeping a close watch on sportsmen and women and artists. A new anti-fraud plan also includes alerts for contraband tobacco and the Secretary of State for Hacienda, Miguel Ferra, says they expect to recover 8.171 billion more from the measures. Hacienda has been told it cannot take on staff but it can substitute one in ten of the retirees. The number of inspections on elite sportsmen will go up by 14%, there will be greater control on house rental and undeclared businesses, using evidence of electrical consumption. Hacienda is also looking more closely at people who declare themselves insolvent when they are not, when they hide their assets. The use of preventative embargoes is to be extended, and offenders who fail to pay their debts to the fiscal face prison. Hacienda has established also new agreements with fiscal authorities in Switzerland, Andorra, Pánama, Bahamas and the Dutch Antilles.

How HMRC finally caught Nasir Khan

2012-03-03T03:52:00.001-08:00

Nasir Khan had a successful accessories business, a jet-set lifestyle and reputation as a pillar of the community. But all that vanished in December when he was jailed for his part in a £250m VAT fraud. Jasper Jackson discovers how a 10-year investigation by HMRC led to his downfall At the start of 2001, Nasir Khan was the owner and managing director of a moderately successful accessories business called The Accessory People, which had an annual turnover of £13 million. By the end of that year, however, he was knee-deep in a £250 million VAT fraud involving the import and export of mobile phones. Khan’s journey from businessman to criminal finally ended at Southwark Crown Court fi ve days before Christmas last year, when he became the 15th member of a pan European criminal gang to be jailed for the fraud. Khan got nine years behind bars for money laundering in the last of six trials that resulted in the 14 other defendants being convicted of defrauding the public purse. The gang was sentenced to a total of almost 100 years in prison. The convictions were the culmination of a 10-year investigation by HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) into a complex web of criminal activity linked to Khan and his associates that encompassed more than 200 companies in the UK, Spain and Holland and bank accounts holding millions of pounds tucked away in Hong Kong, Dubai and Pakistan. Among those convicted for their role in the scam were a drug smuggler, a former used car salesman and a fish and chip shop owner. According to HMRC, Khan and his 14 associates launched their fraudulent operation in June 2001 as the market for mobile accessories went into decline. The fraudsters embarked on a complex version of ‘missing trader’ VAT fraud known as ‘carousel fraud’ because it involves goods passing into and out of a country through a string of companies. The fraudsters would set up a UK company to import goods from the EU, on which it didn’t pay VAT. It would then sell them on to another company in the UK, charging VAT on the sale that should have been paid to HMRC. The second company would in turn sell on the goods to an intermediary controlled by the gang, in order to put distance between the original company and the end of the chain. This process would be repeated a number of times through so-called ‘buffer’ companies in order to disguise the fraud. Eventually, a UK-based firm in the chain would sell the goods to another EU firm outside the UK without charging VAT. Because the fi rm exporting the handsets had paid VAT when buying from firms further back in the chain, it was entitled to collect a refund from HMRC. However, the UK company at the very beginning of the chain would disappear without ever paying the VAT it had made on the first sale and other firms along the chain would also, covering the tracks of the fraudsters in the process. In some cases, the goods themselves would only notionally have the value that was being paid for them, with freight companies brought into the fold to provide seemingly legitimate records of transportation. The process would carry on indefinitely, with the goods that left the country later being reintroduced to the UK. Khan’s firm, The Accessory People (TAP), was one of the buffer firms involved in the scam, and he made huge sums of money helping to launder the proceeds of the carousel fraud. In the space of just two years, between 2001 and 2003, TAP’s turnover rose from £13 million to £219 million. Khan became hugely rich as a result, buying luxury apartments in the Putney Wharf and Chelsea Harbour developments on the Thames in London, as well as properties in Spain and Gibraltar. He also bought a luxury boat. Khan even donated £34,000 to Crimestoppers under the name Nasa Khan. Khan has now had £15 million of his assets frozen as HMRC tries to recoup some of the money lost to the fraud.

Phuket 'Body Parts' Found in Expat's Luxury Mansion

2012-03-03T01:23:00.001-08:00

Police have found what they believe are human remains at the Phuket mansion of a wealthy Scandinavian man - and they say he may have murdered his Thai girlfriend. Thirty police raided the man's seven-bedroom 15 million-baht home in the west coast holiday destination of Kata and discovered suspicious bones in plastic bags in a basement bin. The man, who studied medicine for two years, has denied murdering his girlfriend. Aged 50, the man was being held at Chalong Police Station today on a charge of illegal possession of al firearm - a gun that was registered in the name of the missing woman. In what is one of Phuket's most sensational missing persons cases, perseverance by the family of the Thai girlfriend, who disappeared in 2009, may yet produce a remarkable conclusion. The raid on the man's luxury Phuket mansion took place early yesterday evening and an intense search of the premises followed until early today. ID cards, a watch and other items belonging to the missing woman were found. After officers discovered the plastic bin in the basement and opened its contents, a shocking smell filled the room. Police believe decomposed human remains may be in the remnants of a plastic bag in the green council wheelie rubbish bin. Colonel Atip Tannin, of the Bangkok-based Crime Suppression Division, led the raid. ''The remains have been sent already to facilities at Surat Thani where their DNA will be determined,'' he said. In the house with the Norwegian man last night was a Thai woman, his current girlfriend, who told officers she had been staying there for six months and knew nothing about her partner's previous relationships. His partner of 10 years, Rungnapa Ratchasombut, 30 at the time of her disappearance, was reported missing on July 19, 2009. She had two children from a previous marriage to a policeman. Her anxious family, from Surat Thani, pressed Phuket police and officers at Region 8 HQ for information and eventually went to Bangkok and conveyed their suspicions to the Crime Suppression Division. In last night's raid, police found a handgun registered to Khun Rungnapa, with 58 bullets, and charged the man with illegal possession of the weapon. The man denied any knowledge of the items found in the bin or of having any connection with the disappearance of his former partner.

grisly secret kept by Norwegian Stein Dokset.

2012-03-03T01:20:00.001-08:00

The Commander of Police on Phuket is to investigate why Phuket and Region 8 police ignored requests from the family of a missing woman to properly investigate her disappearance. Only this week, when officers from Bangkok's Crime Suppression Division raided a luxury villa in the beachside Phuket suburb of Kata, did police discover the grisly secret kept by Norwegian Stein Dokset. The body of his beautiful but tempestuous lover Rungnapa 'June' Ratchasombut had been decomposing in a lower-level bathroom-laundry for two-and-a-half years. When police lifted the lid of the green council trash bin that concealed the remains of Khun June, 30 at the time of her death, they also lifted the lid on Phuket police inaction. Why did officers at Kathu Police Station take no action on the family's request, days after Khun June disappeared in 2009, for an investigation of her Norwegian lover's possible involvement? Why did police at Region 8 headquarters take the same attitude? Members of the family let their tears flow at Chalong Police Station in southern Phuket today as they gathered to hear what officers had to say about the investigation so far. Earlier today, Phuket Police Commander Major General Chonsit Wadhnawarangkun briefed media from Phuket and Norway on the murder. Mr Dokset has confessed to killing June and hiding her body in the bin. What puzzles the family - and what they said today they could never forgive - was the way he kept his horrible secret for two-and-a-half years, sharing the house that the couple built with the body of his dead lover. It is understood members of Mr Dokset's were due to arrive on Phuket today. His lover's family consisted of a mother who had five children. Two brothers came to Chalong Police Station today, seeking information. They do not understand why her husband, a policeman in Patong at the time of her disappearance, did not do more to find his missing wife. The remains found in the bin were taken to Surat Thani earlier this week where they have been identified as human. The next step in the investigation will be to achieve a DNA match with Khun June's family. ''We will wait for the DNA sample then we will begin working backwards,'' Major General Chonsit. Asked why the Phuket police failed to respond at any time to the family's pleas for a thorough investigation, he said: ''We will check it out.'' Mr Dokset, 49, was being held in Phuket Provincial Prison today pending a court appearance on one murder count, one count of unlawfully disposing of a body, and one count of illegal posession of a handgun.

Thai police net 4 million methamphetamine pills

2012-03-03T01:17:00.001-08:00

Thai police said they confiscated more than 4 million methamphetamine tablets Friday in northern Thailand in one of the largest such seizures in the country in recent years. The pills were seized when a pickup truck was stopped at a checkpoint early Friday morning in Chiang Rai province, which borders Myanmar, a police department statement said. The government of Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra, which took office last August, has declared suppression of the drug trade one of its priorities. In late January, police made another major seizure of methamphetamine, confiscating 3.8 million tablets and 156 pounds (71 kilograms) of crystal meth found hidden in an empty house in Bangkok's northern outskirts. Thailand is a leading market and transit point for methamphetamine, much of which is produced in neighboring Myanmar. Yingluck's brother Thaksin Shinawatra also launched a war on drugs when he was prime minister from 2001 to 2006. The campaign was popular in some rural areas and slums where the scourge of methamphetamine had led to soaring addiction and crime. But Thaksin's war on drugs drew the ire of human rights advocates, who charged that it involved the extrajudicial executions of alleged dealers. Thai authorities claimed then that the increased number of drug-related killings involved shootouts and infighting among traffickers. Deputy Prime Minister Chalerm Yubumrung, who is in charge of the current campaign, said in September that previous mistakes wouldn't be repeated and that "there will be no license to kill." In Friday's seizure, two suspects fled after abandoning the drugs, which were packed in 34 backpacks, each containing 120,000 tablets, the police statement said. The drug-laden backpacks were flown to Bangkok in the company of combat-equipped special unit police from Chiang Rai and were displayed at a news conference attended by Chalerm. Chalerm told reporters that the traffickers' movement of such a large number of pills in a single shipment implied that there was a shortage of the drug in Thailand so they had to take risks to meet the market demand. In a separate incident, police in Chiang Rai on Thursday night arrested three men they alleged were transporting 200,000 methamphetamine tablets.

INDONESIAN authorities claim an Australian man arrested this week allegedly carrying 1.1kg of hashish inside his body was couriering for an international drug network.

2012-03-02T19:45:00.001-08:00

INDONESIAN authorities claim an Australian man arrested this week allegedly carrying 1.1kg of hashish inside his body was couriering for an international drug network. Because the amount exceeds 1kg, Edward Norman Myatt, 54, could face the death penalty if convicted of importing the drug, said I Made Wijaya, chief of Customs at Bali's Ngurah Rai international airport. "We believe he is a courier," Mr Wijaya yesterday told a press conference at which the Ballarat-born suspect was exhibited along with the drugs. "He is covering up information on the network in Indonesia." Speaking later in Denpasar, Gories Mere, chief of the national counter-narcotics agency BNN, said international drug syndicates were supplying illegal drugs into Bali. The trade had been in methamphetamines, Mr Gories said, but now the type of drugs being trafficked was changing. Mr Myatt was taken into custody at the airport on Monday afternoon after arriving from New Delhi via Bangkok. Mr Myatt was under surveillance by 40 officers when the Thai Airways flight landed because his movements had already attracted attention, Mr Wijaya said. Customs officers searched his baggage and clothing at the airport without finding any evidence of drugs, but remained suspicious. Mr Myatt was taken from the airport for a CT scan at a Kuta medical centre, but momentarily escaped the car when stopped in traffic and dived into a swamp near the roadway, Mr Wijaya said. The suspect was quickly caught and the scan later showed "suspicious objects" in his stomach. Mr Wijaya said 71 capsules containing hashish and one with crystal methamphetamines were recovered from Myatt's body over the following four days. The total weight, including packaging, was 1.11kg. The estimated street value of the hashish was Rp661.8 million (about $67,750). Under Section 113 of the Narcotics Law, Mr Wijaya said, "the suspect faces maximum penalty of death" or a prison term between five and 20 years. Mr Myatt, who was carrying Australian and British passports, had an April 4 return ticket to New Delhi. He had visited Bali five times previously. A Customs source said later that Mr Myatt was thought to have been working in Britain recently, but he had changed details of his story several times during questioning. Eleven of the 12 Australians now imprisoned at Bali's Kerobokan jail are serving lengthy terms for drug trafficking. They include Gold Coast woman Schapelle Corby and the Bali Nine heroin smuggling convicts. Two of the Bali Nine, Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran, have been sentenced to death and their last resort is an appeal for presidential clemency to Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono. Sydney man Michael Sacatides was arrested at Ngurah Rai on October 1, 2010, with 1.7kg of methamphetamines concealed in his luggage. Sacatides was last year sentenced to 18 years' jail.

Radio bombs, mysterious stickers probed in Bangkok blasts

2012-02-22T15:08:00.001-08:00

A series of blasts last week in Thailand that set off accusations between Iran and Israel involved bombs disguised as radio sets, police said Wednesday. The devices used explosive materials that are not available in Thailand and were likely smuggled in, police said. Police are also looking at a series of stickers reading "SEJEAL," which were found found in busy areas of Bangkok. In all 18 have been collected so far from phone booths and street signs, authorities said. "Sejeal" is an Arabic word found in the Quran, referring to small pieces of stone. The Bangkok blasts did not kill anyone, and their intended targets are not clear, although authorities have said they were intended for Israeli diplomats. Suspect taken to Bangkok blast site Israeli diplomats targeted in Thailand Explosions rock Bangkok They went off a day after a device attached to an Israeli Embassy van in New Delhi, India, exploded, wounding several people. Another device, found on an embassy car in Tbilisi, Georgia's capital, was safety detonated. The Thai National Security Council has drawn a tentative link between the bombs in Bangkok and those in India and Georgia, saying the materials used in the explosive devices were similar. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has blamed Tehran for the attacks. But Iran has denied the accusation, saying that "Israeli agents are often the perpetrators of such terrorist acts." Arrest warrants have been issued for five suspects, all identified as Iranians. Three are in custody and charged, while two remain at large. Thai authorities are gathering evidence to seek an arrest warrant for a sixth suspect. The first bomb went off in a rental house in Bangkok believed to be leased to foreigners, according to Thai authorities. After the blast, two of the men left the scene while a third detonated two more bombs -- one when a taxi driver refused to give him a ride, and another when he tried to throw a bomb at police officers as they closed in on him. The last bomb exploded near the man, blowing off his legs below the knee, authorities said. Thai police released a photo of a radio set packed with explosives. The devices include C-4 class plastic explosives material, round steel balls to increase destruction power, and round magnets. Police said the bombs were set to have a 5-second delay to allow the bomber to escape.

Guards flee again as Kerobokan jail violence flares

2012-02-22T15:06:00.001-08:00

Police and prison officials at Bali's troubled Kerobokan prison have once again abandoned their post in the face of a fresh outburst of rioting. Security forces responded with an hour or more of warning shots fired around the prison perimeter in an attempt to deter prisoners from starting a second night of full scale rioting. Two missiles made of rocks bound in flaming cloth were hurled over the prison walls at about 10pm local time Defiant prisoners look through the broken windows of Kerobokan. A barrage of rocks and other debris followed, forcing police stationed inside the prison in the wake of the previous night's destructive riot to quit their posts. Witnesses to the violence say prisoners were yelling: "Everyone is a liar, give back our friends, where are our friends?". This is understood to be a reference to three rioters injured by rubber bullets in the first riot and taken away by ambulance early on Wednesday morning. But the prison doctor, Agus Hartawan, told this website, "The patients are still being treated in hospital and they seem relaxed". Riot at Kerobokan Prison Police douse a fire at the prison entrance. Photo: Erwin Jo The latest incident lasted for about an hour before the prison fell quiet again. At about 1.30am local time, police moved two water cannon trucks into position at the front of the prison gates, apparently in case of an escape attempt.