Pattaya Cops Nab US Man With Three Fake Credit Cards

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.

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

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.

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Mysterious Death of Canadian Sisters Poisonous Mushroom Suspected

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.

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

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.

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Australian tourist killed in Phuket armed robbery

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.

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