Phuket immigration boss hits back at UK drug claims
Brit’s mum alleges drug setup, Thai authorities deny wrongdoing
A British tourist’s mother claims he was set up by Phuket airport officials with drugs planted in his passport—but Thailand’s immigration chief says her story doesn’t add up.
Phuket Airport Immigration Chief Police Colonel Rasarin Thiraphatthanakun has strongly denied explosive claims made in the British press that her officers planted cocaine on a British tourist arriving in Thailand.
The allegations, splashed across outlets including The Daily Mirror, Daily Mail, and Daily Record, centre around 29 year old Jamie Louis Swain from Stevenage, Hertfordshire in the UK, who was arrested in May last year at Phuket International Airport. Thai officials reportedly found 0.42 grammes of cocaine inside his passport.
Swain’s 57 year old mother, Michelle Swain insists her son was framed, calling the arrest a “set-up.” She told MailOnline, “To get through two airports and then suddenly this bag appears… I just find it very strange.”
The British man was later fined 50,000 baht and deported in August, avoiding what could have been a 20-year prison sentence under Thailand’s Narcotics Act. His mother, who flew to Phuket the day Swain was arrested, said he was held in a cell for two days without food or water.
“It could happen to any young boys going out there,” she warned. “It can ruin people’s lives.”
But Phuket’s top immigration officer isn’t having it. Speaking to The Phuket News, Pol. Col. Rasarin refuted the accusations, stating, “We want to confirm our innocence here. We don’t have any [wrongdoing]. And if you have any doubts, we can check the cameras. They’re always on.”
Rasarin explained that while the incident happened before she took up her post in March this year, she trusts the procedures in place.
“At that time, we would find many people who used drugs and forgot them in their passports,” she said.
The immigration chief emphasised that airport officers go through security scanners before each shift to prevent any smuggling.
“Every officer has to go through the scanner. We can’t carry drugs and hold them on our person.”
CCTV footage is available in disputed cases, she added, and multiple agencies—including Airports of Thailand and Phuket Immigration—witness such searches, reported The Phuket News.
“When they went home, they might have cried to their mothers and said something different,” Rasarin said. “But our staff were just doing their job. We were damaged by being accused of framing tourists.”
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Yeah I’m sure the other two airports just didn’t notice the drugs in the passport, when they were thumbing through the passport. Totally legit.
That’s why they just took his 50k bht and told him to leave instead of a proper trial with a defense attorney and the necessity to prove their case.
“ SO, The Thai Police are Saying they DIDN’T Plant Drugs in a Tourist’s PASSPORT?”
😅😂🤣🤭😲🤭😅😂🤣😅😂🤣🤭😲🤭😅😂🤣😅😂🤣🤭😲🤭😅😂🤣