Transcript of the above video: 

As the title of this video suggests, we are discussing a recent news story involving a foreign national apprehended with a fair amount of illicit substance in their underwear. I thought of making this video after reading a recent article from the Phuket News, that is thephuketnews.com, the article is titled: Saudi man caught at Phuket Airport with Ketamine in underwear. Quoting directly: "A Saudi Arabian man was arrested in Phuket International Airport after Officers allegedly discovered Ketamine capsules concealed in his underwear as he prepared to board an outbound international flight." Quoting further: "Customs Officers and Police apprehended "Safi" (not his real name), 28, at the international departures terminal of Phuket International Airport in Mai Khao at about 8pm on Wednesday (June 3). According to Police, Safi had already checked in at the Etihad Airways counter and loaded two bags of luggage before proceeding through Immigration and security screening. During a body scan, an alarm was triggered, prompting Officers to carry out a more detailed search. The search allegedly uncovered 63 red and white capsules containing a white powder hidden in a cloth bag inside the suspect's underwear. The capsules contained approximately 32. g of Ketamine police said. A field test using ONCB053 Ketamine Reagent reportedly produced a light purple colour, indicating the substance was Ketamine, classified as a Category 2 narcotic under Thai Law. Officers also seized two iPhones as evidence. Safi was handed over to investigators at Sakhu Police Station and charged with exporting a Category 2 narcotic from the Kingdom without permission, possession of a Category 2 narcotic without permission and offenses under the Customs Act. Sakhu Police Superintendent Pol Col Salan Santisasanakul said authorities were continuing efforts to prevent airports from being used at routes for international drug trafficking and were investigating possible links to wider drug networks."

So yeah, this was a pretty big deal obviously, this person being apprehended. But I think that a bigger point than anything is to understand look Immigration are Police Officers as well. It's not just something - as I've discussed in other videos - there was a time when the paradigm was much more in the sort of cognitive framework of the idea that Immigration Police are sort of administrative. No, they are law enforcement; make no mistake about it. And if you are caught with illicit substances going through an Immigration checkpoint, you are going to have real problems. I expect this person will probably be detained, possibly could go through an adjudication, basically a trial, or may plead out to some sort of charge, probably would be detained for a fair bit of time before being deported and presumably Blacklisted, and I expect it will be something akin to a lifetime Blacklist if this person is ultimately adjudicated to be guilty of the offense at issue. 

So the biggest thing to take away from this video is a) Immigration Police is just like any other police; b) never a good idea to travel through international checkpoints with illicit and illegal substances, notwithstanding some of the recent repeals of rules and laws regarding things like Cannabis. Again Ketamine remains something that is illegal in Thailand; it is a controlled substance. It is considered a narcotic, and for that reason, there are a number of different laws including criminal laws regarding the possession and distribution thereof which could lead to serious criminal penalties in Thailand. 

I guess the biggest thing to take away from this video, if you are traveling through an international checkpoint in Thailand maybe don't come through with Ketamine in your underwear.