Chencho Dema
In the latest update on the smuggling case involving USD 0.45 million seized by Thai Customs at Bangkok International Airport last year, police have obtained a seizure memo from the airport, sources revealed.
However, as the memo is written in Thai, officials are currently working to verify its authenticity through cross checking.
Following the completion of the police investigation, the case was forwarded to the Office of the Attorney General (OAG) on November 18 last year. However, the case was sent back to police for further investigation due to lack of adequate evidences.
What Kuensel knows from the sources is that while the individual was alleged to be involved in the smuggling of US dollars, as reported by the media at the time, no actual dollars were seen. Also, CCTV footage from the incident only showed the individuals carrying three K5 boxes, with no evidence of him physically handling or transporting the alleged dollars.
Following media reports, both the alleged suspect and his wife are believed to have either resigned from or been suspended from their respective jobs, according to sources.
Thai Customs seized USD 0.45M at the Bangkok International Airport from a the man who was trying to smuggle last year.
The suspect was production head of the Drukair Catering Unit who collaborated with his wife, who works as a supervisor of duty-free in the same unit, to carry the dollars inside three K5 Whisky boxes with the food and beverage trolley on Drukair’s aircraft and placed it in the overhead cabin.
A joint investigation team comprising police and customs officials in Paro confirmed that the dollars were taken into the aircraft using the catering trolley on June 23.
The case came to light on July 2, when Paro police were informed that the man who had flown to Bangkok from Paro on Drukair’s KB-130 flight, was arrested by Thai customs at the Bangkok airport. The man had flown to Bangkok on June 23 and returned to Bhutan on June 28.
The police had then detained the man on July 3, for questioning where he had stated that the dollars were to be handed to an Indian man in Bangkok.
Prior to his departure, the couple stuffed dollars in Whisky boxes to show as K5 bought from the duty-free shop.
Thai customs at Bangkok International Airport scanned the man’s baggage and his handbag at the exit gate and found the dollars. They seized the cash along with his passport.
However, the man paid the penalty and Thai customs officials released his passport to return home.
Last year, three forex smuggling cases were reported at Paro International Airport.
Among them, customs and security officials seized a total of USD 500,000 in two major incidents. On August 30, a 49-year-old businesswoman was caught carrying USD 140,000, followed by a businessman in his 40s who was apprehended with USD 360,000 on September 6. Both were en route to Bangkok, Thailand.
Foreign currency regulations stipulate that any foreign currency equivalent to or exceeding USD 10,000 must be declared to customs upon departure or arrival.