RONEV wrote: ↑Sun Jun 25, 2023 7:09 am Why the hell would a drug smuggler book so many stopovers? Sao Paulo to Dubai to Kuala Lumpur to Phnom Penh to Bangkok??? That's just fucking stupid.

To save some money on his ticket ofcourse.

KevinTan wrote: ↑Mon Jun 26, 2023 7:50 pm

RONEV wrote: ↑Sun Jun 25, 2023 7:09 am Why the hell would a drug smuggler book so many stopovers? Sao Paulo to Dubai to Kuala Lumpur to Phnom Penh to Bangkok??? That's just fucking stupid.

Yeah, could have flown on a flight via Singapore. We would have dealt with it and saved Cambodian taxpayers money.

That's quite a toss-up for a drug smuggler - between a rock and a hard place.
Would you prefer to spend the rest of your life in a Cambodian jail (or 20-30 years, whichever is longer), or a couple of years in a nice Singapore jail and then be humanely hung from the neck (or however they do the death sentence there.) Whereas, in Cambodia there are good (almost certain) chances that you get will get sick in jail and die of "natural causes".

Seriously, my guess is that the real answer to the question about the reason for the flights with multiple stopovers is that it is not easy to get direct flights between South America and SEA, and I suppose that they don't want to fly through the US or the EU. So there's not a lot of choice.
Another thing is that it makes me wonder if the guy from T&T wasn't a decoy - IMO that's a lot of bucks spent on plane tickets and a lot of risks to transport 1.5 kilos of coke. I don't know the price of coke in Thailand but this doesn't add up, does it ? As some like to say here "Just my opinion!"

RONEV wrote: ↑Sun Jun 25, 2023 7:09 am Why the hell would a drug smuggler book so many stopovers? Sao Paulo to Dubai to Kuala Lumpur to Phnom Penh to Bangkok??? That's just fucking stupid.

How would you do it? There are no passenger flights to PNH from outside SE/FE Asia,and I'm pretty sure there aren't any direct flights from Brazil to anywhere in SE/FE Asia. Also, I imagine the last leg into Thailand would not be by air but by land.

How would you do it? There are no passenger flights to PNH from outside SE/FE Asia,and I'm pretty sure there aren't any direct flights from Brazil to anywhere in SE/FE Asia. Also, I imagine the last leg into Thailand would not be by air but by land.

I did this flight once round trip and I went from Rio to Amsterdam to Bangkok to Phnom Penh and back again after 3 days in Phnom Penh.

The problems is jet-fuel: 99% of the airplanes conat or dont want to cross the pacific because they havent enough fuel a board, most logical way is crossing africa and middle-east. Probably the middle-east airlines have super-cheap fuel and thats why they can do it cheaper. Going up to Amsterdam and then to Bangkok is a long way around. And ofcourse nobody wants to go by the US, they have maybe the most ridiculous immigration-laws, even for transiting in the airport. I was last year in Iran, and there is nothing to see in my passport from it, but i am prety sure if i touch down on US-soil somewhere there will be a whole team of CIA waiting for me. No thanks, better take longer and/or more expensive route !! Whit a couple of kgs of coke, probably AMS-BKK isnt that bad idea hahaha !!

Anchor Moy wrote: ↑Tue Jun 27, 2023 1:43 am

KevinTan wrote: ↑Mon Jun 26, 2023 7:50 pm

RONEV wrote: ↑Sun Jun 25, 2023 7:09 am Why the hell would a drug smuggler book so many stopovers? Sao Paulo to Dubai to Kuala Lumpur to Phnom Penh to Bangkok??? That's just fucking stupid.

Yeah, could have flown on a flight via Singapore. We would have dealt with it and saved Cambodian taxpayers money.

Seriously, my guess is that the real answer to the question about the reason for the flights with multiple stopovers is that it is not easy to get direct flights between South America and SEA, and I suppose that they don't want to fly through the US or the EU. So there's not a lot of choice.

As some like to say here "Just my opinion!"

You can use google flights to check that there is options for single stop flights from brazil to bangkok while avoiding europe: https://www.google.com/travel/flights/s ... YAQI&hl=de

Bluenose wrote: ↑Tue Jun 27, 2023 7:32 am

RONEV wrote: ↑Sun Jun 25, 2023 7:09 am Why the hell would a drug smuggler book so many stopovers? Sao Paulo to Dubai to Kuala Lumpur to Phnom Penh to Bangkok??? That's just fucking stupid.

How would you do it?

Mail it obviously!

Phnom Penh Court Sentences Two Foreigners to Life in Prison for Drug Trafficking

On the morning of March 14, 2024, Ms. Say Srey Leak, President of the Trial Chamber of the Phnom Penh Municipal Court, announced the convictions of two foreign nationals for drug-related offenses. KNIGTHS JOEL ISIAH, a 41-year-old male from Trinidad and Tobago, and ARTHAN THATSANEE, a 35-year-old Thai woman, were both sentenced to life imprisonment and fined 60 million riel each for storing and transporting drugs.

The arrests were made on June 19, 2023, by the Anti-Drug Crime Force (A1) led by Colonel Mak Serey Vattanak, Deputy Director of the Anti-Drug Department, in collaboration with the Customs and Excise Department and the General Department of Immigration at Phnom Penh International Airport. The operation was carried out under the orders of Lt. Gen. Neth Savoeun and Lt. Gen. Mak Chito, Deputy Commissioner General of the Anti-Drug Crime Plan, and under the direct command of Lt. Gen. Kheng Sarath, Director of the Anti-Drug Department.

KNIGTHS JOEL ISIAH was identified as the owner of the suitcase containing the drugs and was allegedly smuggling them from Brazil to Cambodia. ARTHAN THATSANEE was believed to be a drug dealer and transporter, responsible for delivering the drugs to Thailand. Authorities seized a total of 1,594.38 grams of cocaine during the operation.