Travellers warned of scam in Thai airport

Travellers warned of police duty free scam in Thai airport


Woman married to Mayo man was falsely accused of shop-lifting in duty-free

Anton McNulty

TRAVELLERS going through Thailand’s new International Airport in Bangkok have been warned to be aware of a scam where travellers are falsely arrested of shop-lifting and have to pay policemen large sums of money to be released.
Last month a woman married to a Bonniconlon man underwent an horrendous ordeal when she was arrested and charged with shop-lifting and also had her passport confiscated. Dr Angela Norris, a native of Kilkenny and married to Bonniconlon man Ronan Loftus, was detained overnight in filthy conditions before being forced to pay a bail bond, before fleeing the country via a neighbouring country.
The scam is believed to involve shops in the duty-free section, Thai police and even translators who are supposed to assist the arrested person or persons. Dr Norris had been in Thailand on business and was in Suvarnabhumi International Airport making purchases in the duty-free section. After buying some items which were on a two-for-one sale, she was surrounded by police and accused of stealing the item she believed was for free.
“They were shouting at me: ‘You! You! You go to jail six months,” she told the Irish Mail on Sunday. “They took the eyeliner off me and started waving it in my face. I said I paid for it, but when I looked at the receipt it was only a receipt for 576 Thai baht for the lipstick.”
She was taken to the airport police station and then to a nearby police station where she was detained overnight in filthy conditions. After she was released on bail, her passport was confiscated by the Thai authorities and she was told she would have to wait at least six months to hear her case. Ronan flew over to Thailand and helped her escape the country minus her passport.
Suvarnabhumi International Airport was only opened in the last three years and for many young Irish travellers it is the first point of call when going to south east Asia. Sadly and worryingly for travellers to the region, Dr Norris’ ordeal does not seem to be an isolated incident with allegations of a number of passengers being detained every month in the duty free section on suspicion of shoplifting, and then held by police until they pay large sums of money to buy their freedom.
The BBC reported how British couple Stephen Ingram and Xi Lin were arrested after accused of stealing a wallet in the duty-free section of the airport and were forced to pay £8,000 or else they would be transferred to the infamous Bangkok Hilton Prison.
Mayo TD, Dara Calleary told The Mayo News that he was made aware of Dr Norris’ situation by her family in Mayo and he referred the case onto the Department of Foreign Affairs. He explained that since hearing of this he has become aware of more examples of people travelling through the airport being arrested and has urged people who will be using the airport to be aware.
“Clearly this is now a problem and there is a scam in place at this airport and I would urge people to be vigilant when using this airport,” he said.
The Department of Foreign Affairs have issued a warning to people travelling through Suvarnabhumi International Airport. “Visitors passing through Suvarnabhumi Airport, or moving between shops and stalls, should be extremely careful to ensure that they have paid, and have receipts for, all items in their possession before they move away from the vendor. We have received reports that innocent shoppers have been the subject of allegations of suspected theft and threatened that their cases will not be heard for several months unless they plead guilty and pay substantial fines.”