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

well done there joe!

Beware of customs scam

Thanks, Gary, apart from that, I%26#39;m having the holiday of a lifetime her..

Joe

Holiday makers are an easy target for scams and it helps everyone if they are reported on forums like this when found out.

Another one in Bangkok is when you go to the Grand Palace you are told it is shut today and someone offers to take you to another site. It is of course open.

Totally agree, that%26#39;s why I, and many others take the time to post.

I don%26#39;t like to see anyone getting ripped.

These forums are invaluable; well done to all the Moderators and folks, like Cathy and Gary in particular, who take the time to share valuable information with everyone.

Regards,

Joe

Fair play to ya, Joe!

But tell me, did you actually save much by taking cigs in with you - I thought they were pretty cheap in Thailand anyway?

Or was it just that you wanted to be sure of getting your favourite brand?

Hello :

Here is my take on Joe cig. He brought in the real brand

made in England cig 555 or dunhill...I used to smoke these

brand and they are excellent and very expensive.

You can buy all kinds of cig. like those in BKK cheaper .However,

they are made in Singapore and not really worth a smoke .

I alraedy quit smoking for a while now because of a lot of reasons

and the laws in the USA are very strict You problaly can not

lit up a cig. in anywhere except in your own car or at home.

Hi Guys, I flew through Dubai; the duty free there is just awesome, so I bought 400. Sorry, can%26#39;t remember the price exactly, but definitely cheaper than here in LOS.

Regards,

Joe

Hello :

That is great if you can get a better deal in Dubai duty

free cig. I missed the free duty cig. in London last year

for real brand English smokes. However, I already quit

by that time.

Price them in Bangkok airport duty free before you fly home Joe...if you are going back via Dubai that is...the brand we like (L%26amp;M),were definately cheaper in Bangkok than Dubai.

Hello :

You may buy cig. cheaper in LOS. However, these are not the

real brands made in England , they are fake stuff .

I want the real things , if I still smoke 555 or Dunhill London.

They are the best in the world .