Beware of customs scam

I arrived in Bangkok at 8.00pm last week; my flight had been delayed in

Dubai for two hours.

Immigration was extremely busy, it took 45 minutes

to get out. I went outside the airport building for a smoke. I was gasping for one.

A customs officer came up and asked me how many cigarettes did I have in my

case.

I%26#39;d heard of this customs scam recently; they%26#39;re just out to

take the cigarettes and sell them on. He looked in my bag.

Well,he picked the wrong guy at a very wrong time.

After a night of travelling with no sleep, I wasn鈥檛 at my best.

I was in no mood for their welcome to Thailand.

I asked to see his identity card and took my time examining it. I then asked him why he approached me OUTSIDE the terminal building and not at the customs desk.

Then I demanded to see his superior

I said all of this in a very serious and superior manner, with just a touch of

tetchiness thrown in.

His expression changed fairly quickly to one of mild panic.

His attitude changed IMMEDIATELY.

';Sorry sir, cigarettes

ok,

where you from? Did you have a nice flight鈥?quot;

The laughable part is that I had 400 cigarettes, over the limit I think.

I just walked away with my case.

A lovely welcome to the Land of Scams.

Joe

Beware of customs scam

And have no doubt you%26#39;ve smoked %26#39;em all by now by dearest Irish buddy!

Love you lots long time

Cheers

Tiff xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Beware of customs scam

Havent heard of this one before Joe, well done for standing your ground.

Have a good holiday and look forward to hearing all about it when your back.

Cathy

Thanks Girls,

Cathy, amazingly, on the morning I left Ireland, a guy working in a local shop told me to be careful about this; it happened to him and his mates 4 weeks previously.

How%26#39;s that for an amazing coincidence?

So I was somewhat prepared.

Having a ball here, your travel pages and tips are pure gold!

Gotta go girls; have to catch a speedboat to Phi Phi!

Love ye both,

Joe

Well done Joe,

Its sometimes worth standing your ground on matters like this.

We came in via Singapore last year and had smokes in every pocket for our friends as the Singapore limit is only 2 packs per person.

Its nice to have a win against the authorities even if its only on minor issues like cigarettes, its a pity they don%26#39;t take more care looking for real contraband.

Cheers, Pete.

Well, love it or leave it really. There are badies every where. You call them scam what about your honesty?

Good girl, Miasma, thanks for bumping this important post; folks need to be aware of it.......

much appreciated...

Best regards, Joe

I Am Siam - I beg to differ your questioning of the integrity of a frequent traveller to Thailand who elects to share helpful advice that could benefit new and regular travellers alike. If you have any %26#39;goodies %26amp; baddies%26#39; stories you would like to share with us, your input is welcome, otherwise I personally choose to %26#39;love%26#39; the advice and %26#39;leave%26#39; the unnecessary commentary!

Once again Joe, thanks for the heads up!

Cheers

Tiff xx

Tiff,

I think the point iamsiam was making was referring to the fact that Joe_From_Ireland was trying to take in more smokes than he was legally allowed to, which he says in his original post.....therefore I would say she raises a valid point....

Or am i mistaken.....?? Should we all be providing tips on illegal behavior and scamming customs???

-James.

jambomccotter... you got my point. if you didn%26#39;t do any wrong, there is nothing to be worried about really.

I thought the post was to was advise travellers on the latest scam some custom officers are up to now.

If it was a legitimate search for excess cigarettes, then why the sudden change in attitude when Joe asked to see the officer%26#39;s superior?? Surely that request could have been met and the search continued. Had that been done, then Joe would have been busted for the crime of the century.

But alas, by the sounds of it, the customs officer in question must have had ulterior motives.

I therefore believe he got lucky .... ( laughable part )

So I%26#39;m afraid I for one did not take it as a ';How to scam customs'; thread at all.

Jubby