The claim was made by Michelle Swain, 57, the mother of Jamie Louis Swain, who was arrested at Phuket International Airport in May last year. The story was widely reported in the British press this week, including in The Daily Mirror. The Daily Mail and the Daily Record also published their own version of the same report.
According to the reports, Jamie Swain, then 29, from Stevenage in Hertfordshire, had flown to Phuket with his brother for a holiday. But upon arrival, he was detained by immigration officers who allegedly discovered a small plastic bag containing 0.42 grammes of white powder hidden in his passport.
The substance tested positive for cocaine, and Swain was arrested under Thailand’s Narcotics Act (see original story here). He reportedly faced a potential prison sentence of up to 20 years. However, following a court hearing in July, he was fined B50,000 and deported back to the UK in early August.
His mother, Michelle Swain, told MailOnline the arrest was a “set up” and that her son had been through two airports without issue before landing in Phuket. “To get through two airports and then suddenly this bag appears, and he’d had his passport out all that time, I just find it very strange,” she said.
She described the ordeal as traumatic, alleging her son was held in a cell without food or water for two days before being granted bail. Ms Swain said she flew to Thailand the same night he was detained and feared he might face jail time in a foreign country.
Swain remained in Phuket for at least three months while awaiting trial, she said. Although the sentence did not include jail time, Ms Swain warned other British tourists to be vigilant when travelling to Thailand. “It could happen to any young boys going out there. There’s nothing you can do… It can ruin people’s lives,” she told reporters.
In response to the accusations, Pol Col Rasarin told The Phuket News the arrest occurred before she took up her current post but defended the integrity of the officers involved.
Pol Col Rasarin took up the post of Chief of Phuket Airport Immigration in March this year, replacing Pol Col Padthongtew Damapong.
After just 10 months of active service as chief of the Phuket Airport Immigration unit, Pol Col Padthongtew was promoted to the post of Immigration Chief of Nonthaburi Province, which forms part of ‘Greater Bangkok’.
Pol Col Padthongtew is the son of an older brother of Khunying Potjaman na Pombejra, the ex-wife of former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra.
“At that time, we would find many people who used drugs and forgot them in their passports,” she said. “They were small amounts used for consumption, not for sale. When we arrested them, we didn’t find drugs in their bags but on their bodies or in their passports.”
She explained that if there was ever a dispute or suspicion of foul play, CCTV footage would be reviewed to track a passenger’s movements from the moment they disembarked.
“This was to clear up doubts that our side had framed the charges,” she said, adding that in most cases, suspects confessed.
Pol Col Rasarin also stressed the procedures in place to prevent any wrongdoing by staff, including mandatory security checks before each shift.
“Every officer has to go through the scanner. We can’t carry drugs and hold them on our person,” she said. “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.”
Pol Rasarin added that officers from other agencies, including the Phuket branch of Airports of Thailand, which operates Phuket Airport, and Phuket Immigration, were often present during such cases, serving as witnesses.
“When they went home, they might have cried to their mothers and said something different. But looking at it from the other side, our staff were just doing their job, and we were damaged by being accused of framing tourists when we didn’t do it,” she said.
See also:
NZ man caught with cocaine at Phuket Airport; Russian arrested for long overstay
Aussie arrested at Phuket airport, arrives with cocaine in passport
British man arrested on arrival at Phuket Airport with cocaine