Luggage theft

[George Pill]

https://pattayatoday.net/canadian-luggage-thief-arrested/

This article today piqued my interest. I have been pretty lucky not getting my luggage stolen at this airport. The only bad thing is my luggage was broken into with the locks bent off and bags entered 4 times on my first two trips to Thailand. Yep, both arrivals and both departures all within 2 years! I'm sure the crime was done at Suvarnabhumi Airport and not my HNL or Narita stopovers. My research right after those 2 crimes surprised me. I typed "airport luggage thefts Suvarnbhumi. Whoa! This airport is not only number one as an the best international tourist destination but also as the number one for airport luggage thefts. From this I concluded SA is a corrupt place to do business. It is a perfect place to rip off tourists. The airport is where all the tourists arrive and depart. They come to these thieves to let them happily take their money and valuables. Like a casino. These 2 thefts really ruined my impression in Thailand, and did disillusion me into thinking this airport and all of Thailand was a shameful criminal country. My first impression still stays with me although less in intensity after 8 visits. I don't think my luggage has ever been invaded elsewhere or so I think. Felt so insulted like some bum burgled my own home. This is not the first time I am reading about Thai airport security catching a real thief in the airport. I think there are way more luggage thefts than have been reported. I think most of them are done by airport security in uniform in the basement. They are fakes who think they are in a candy store. Of course all airports have this problem. There's lots of stealing guys and gals at EVERY airport. Five finger discounts is so popular. It's free and fun.

I did become proactive and researched how to stop these schmucks. In the end I decided to protect myself by wrapping my luggage with Saran Wrap just like the clear plastic wrapping kiosk. I was interested when I first saw this neat trick at the entrance. But there was a long line and costs a small Baht. I was leaving and wanted to leave with the least amount of foreign coin as possible, but enough to buy a pizza before leaving on a long 18 hour trip. I was happy that my Saran wrapping was working on my following trips. But it is indeed troublesome. So I improved my security strategy by testing baggage covers. Samsonite nylon covers were the best. Got medium and large. No small ones for a carry on. They are very light, thin, very strong. After I slip on the cover and fasten the Velcro on the bottom I will wrap several layers of brown mailing tape. Cheap stuff so I wrap it 5 times up and down across the Velcro tabs. Then with a black felt pen I will sign my name across all the layers of tape. Helps to detect if my bags were broken in and the thief tries to replace the tape in the original positions. Very easy to do and this trick does work. My bags have never been broken into again.

BTW I learned this trick from a James Bond movie called Cannonball. Mr. Bond would exit his hotel room and turn around. He pulls out one hair from his head and with a little saliva glues it to the spot where the door and jamb meet. Upon returning he checks the unassuming piece of hair. If still there he will assume nobody entered through the door. If broken somebody gets shot. I still a laugh at this trick. This British Ian Fleming was one of my favorite spy authors before the Internet was invented. He really was a undercover agent for MI6. World War 2 created a lot of heroes who would have gone unnoticed if there was no war.

When these covers first arrived from Amazon.com I added another trick to discourage thieves. I sprayed yellow paint in X patterns over my covers AND even all of my black bags. Haven't sprayed my carry on yet because they look so awful and messy. I like the ugly yellow patterns for 2 reasons. I can instantly find my luggage when they shoot out of the conveyor belt at luggage claims. And thieves are hesitant to be seen walking out with the ugliest luggage in Suvanbhumi Airport or any transportation port for that matter. I always laugh at myself watching every single bag that was black coming out of the conveyor belt. Now I am relaxed knowing I can easily spot my very own bags and that no one will mistakenly take my bags because they all look black. Last December I was pleasantly surprised that SA has sped up their luggage delivery time. They have improved to accommodate the evident explosive arrive of ever increasing numbers of tourist (and their dollars). I hope they will improve their security and continue to do so. I think those STOP CORRUPTION efforts have finally started. I hope that MAFIA FAMILY of relatives has finally been fired and booted out. Or arrested and jailed with all stolen luggage items found. Impossible to find the owners if there is no name and address mailing labels attached to each and every item. Time to refill my label containers. Yours, too.

Funny, if you carefully look at the Canadian girl in the video photo you will notice the bag was pink! She so stupid. She's exactly the kind of schmuck people who are causing this irritating TM30 to be created and enforced. I am now beginning to believe it is a kosher law. The authorities are begging for you understanding. Chan Ocha is really sincere about stopping corruption. He is a GOOD CORRUPT president. Once corruption is finally stopped (haha) I hope he will stop his and Prawit's own. (hahahaha).

If you are too sensitive about ruining your beautiful bags, just remember they are utilitarian tool purposed to contain your valuables between destinations. Once you enter your hotel room they are opened and stored in the closet. You're not going to carry them around everywhere you shop, eat, or go to the beach. Just forgeddaboud 'em.

[Rockheart]

You sure have a phobia about your suitcases.....

In the USA if you fly domestically they will rip all locks off your bags and open them. So I wouldn't say this is a Thai issue.
It is ilegal to lock your suitcase when flying the USA and Canada ever since 911.

The first time i went to Chicago they cutoff the locks on my suitcase and opened it. Problem is that they never closed it.
So when my bag came out in the Canadian airport, my shit was strewn everywhere.

My luggage was stolen off the carousel at Detroit airport while i was on a shuttle bus from the other terminal.

Never had one issue related to luggage in Thailand anywhere, other than not have enough suitcase space to bring all the shit i bought home.
I hate flying in the USA.

[P&G]

George has a lot of phobias regarding Thailand. The above story proves that they improved the efficiency of their police and that thieves can no longer operate safely with impunity. Either this is the first time or not that she stole other passengers luggage. She will discover that the time and living conditions in a Thai prison are not worth the price of the few baggages she stole.

Every time I travel, I also fear my baggage to be damaged when I take it back at the conveyor. It happened to me once ... in the USA several years before 911. I took a flight from Atlanta to Newark, then from Newark to Montreal. I could watch the airport employee putting baggages on a conveyor to load the baggage and noticed that a strap had been teared off the luggage. I don't know if someone had tried to open it or if just got torn off during operations in conveyors.

[rxpharm]

Here's an article from Forbe's regarding luggage and article theft from US luggage from July, 6, 2017.

With the summer travel season is in full swing, it€™s time to consider an unglamorous irritant: luggage theft.

Thanks to Osama Bin Ladin and other terrorist threats, resources from the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) to local police have been deployed to protect travelers in airports across the United States and the world. Most of the screening (and those interminable lines) takes place before passengers and their luggage can get on a plane.

Unfortunately, few such security resources are deployed on the arrival side, when exhausted travelers wait impatiently to be reunited with their baggage. Not only does one black roller bag look like another, but the luggage carousel areas at many airports (looking at you, LAX, Burbank, Las Vegas) are wide open to walk-ins from the street or other parts of the airport.

How easy is it for someone to wheel out a couple of roller bags? In the unlikely event they€™re caught, they can simply say, €œOh sorry, I thought that was my roller bag.€

How bad is the airport theft problem? In 2012, the DAILY MAIL claimed that NY€™s JFK airport had more than 200 thefts per day from checked luggage. Even more disturbing, the story claimed that often airport employees were behind the theft, and that the airlines simply reported the luggage as lost. Similarly, in 2014, a €œring€ of 25 baggage handlers was accused of theft at LAX. And a CNN story on the TSA from 2010 to 2014 found people filed 30,621 claims of missing valuables, either from checked luggage or disappearing at security checkpoints.



If your luggage goes from being €œdelayed,€ as the airlines like to put it, to €˜dearly departed€™, how much can you be compensated for your lost or quite possibly stolen luggage? American Airlines says their liability for €˜loss, delay or damage€™ of baggage is $3500 per ticketed passenger domestically, and up to 1,131 SDRs (Special Drawing Rights) per ticketed passenger internationally. While this sounds grand, a currency converter reveals that 1,131 SDRs are worth about $1567.

Collecting from the airlines also poses a series of challenges. American, for example, asks you to fill out a passenger questionnaire with the following information:

• Airline ticket receipts

Baggage claim checks

• Original receipts are required for all reimbursement for delay expenses
• Receipt(s) for excess value claimed
• Receipt(s) for excess baggage charges paid
• Receipt(s) for all items valued over $150.00
• Clear and legible government issued photo identification for each passenger making a claim

So what is to be done? Short of deploying another TSA-sized army to protect your luggage, not much. Perhaps airlines could €˜seal off€™ luggage claim areas to non-ticketed passengers, but asking frazzled travelers to provide ID and a boarding pass just to wait for luggage might provoke a rebellion.


So the onus of protecting your valuable falls squarely on you. Some suggestions:

• Go carry-on when possible. Not only will this speed your trip, but it can save you checked-luggage fees on most airlines. BTW, what most people think of as a $25 fee is just for the first bag. On American, for example, the first bag is $25, the second $35, the third bag is $150, and the 4^th through 10^th are $200 each.
• If you do check luggage, whenever possible DON€™T pack items of great value (economic or sentimental) in your suitcase.
• If you€™re taking jewelry, cash, small electronics and the like, DO carry it with you, in your pocket, purse, or other carryon. Watch carefully when it goes through the metal detector. This isn€™t fool-proof (what if you get pulled aside for additional screening while your stuff sits exposed on the conveyor belt?) but it should significantly reduce the potential for €œshrinkage€ at the checkpoint.
• The fewer valuables you take, the better off you are. How many of us have left phones, laptops or jewelry at a TSA checkpoint in the mad rush to catch a flight? Yes, you will usually get it back, but not always.
• Don€™t use luggage that stands out€”but DO make it distinctive. Not surprisingly, designer and other high-end luggage gets unwanted attention from thieves. But make your ordinary luggage stand out, so it€™s easier for you to spot and harder for a thief to claim he thought it was his. This might mean a blue or patterned roller bag instead of black, or simply tucking a colorful cloth or stuffed animal around the handle.
• Be prepared to prove your case: Take pictures of the content of your suitcase, back them up (what if your phone disappears?) and have receipts for items that cost more than $100.
• If there€™s no sign of your bag, report it to the airline before you leave the luggage area. If the bag never shows up, you will typically have several weeks (45 days on American, for example) to file an itemized claim.
• You may also want to file a police report or TSA claim form, particularly if your bag reappears but your valuables do not. It can take up to six months, but according to the Huffington Post, in 2015 the TSA settled about 37 percent of claims for stolen or damaged items,
• Travel insurance, some credit cards or your homeowners insurance might also compensate you for lost or stolen luggage. Again, you€™ll need those receipts, photos and documentation in hand.

Fairly huge numbers in the USA - although some stats are older (2012), I am sure there are problems in Thailand as well, but assuming they are worse than most countries is definitely not the smartest thing to do.

I have been to Thailand over 60 times since 1995, and I have never had anything stolen from my luggage. I have had delayed delivery twice, and damaged luggage once (nothing missing inside)..

[Rockheart]

In Atlanta they had security at the arrivals baggage. They would not let you leave with bags unless you had the matching baggage tags.
I'm not sure why they don't do this everywhere.
in Detroit they wouldn't cover my bag because I took too long to get to the carousel. They put me on a slow shuttle bus, not my fault.
I find BKK airport is pretty good for luggage issues compared to the USA..

[P&G]

This is amazing for me to read about the SDR since I have known this word for years after studying the Convention of Warsaw agreement. The ICAO conventions (Warsaw, Montréal etc ...) define the liability of the air carrier in International flights. Companies policies shouldn't be lower than the rates defined in these conventions. Domestic flights are not regulated by these conventions unless the local laws state that domestic flights are also regulated by the ICAO applicable convention.

America (the USA) was the first country to develop industrial air transportations in the 1950s. So their standards including quality standards are sometimes old fashioned. In the 1950s, air fares were expensive and companies could generously repay baggage losses. Nowadays, with low cost companies, it's not so obvious. This is why airlines became more restrictive to repay losses of bagage. They are also more suspicious because of fake claims.

The best tip is to travel with a company submitted to the Warsaw (or Montréal) convention. In case a luggage is lost, the passenger will be repaid according to the scale of the convention. This takes into account the weight as defined at check in. If a company asks for evidences of higher value items, this means they have special conditions to pay more than the ICAO convention. This also means a lot of tricky procedures to prove that the item was lost and how much it costed. This is why it's also not recommended to travel with jewelries or any item with high value. Anyway, you are going to Thailand, you just need a pair of shorts, tshirts, a swimming suite, some underwear, condoms and your winter clothes for the travel back. It's better to keep the camera and the phone in the cabin.

After 9/11, securities improved in Europe but contrary what is described in the Forbes article, the police dismantled thieves networks among airport employees. We don't really know what security aims et in Europe. When they say they want o protect people against terrorism, they sometimes struggle against small fellonies. On the other hand, they sometimes pretend to struggle against illegal trafics and they find gangs linked to islamic networks.

Regarding quality standards, countries like Thailand are sometimes more likely to develop higher standards since they needn't change old standards of the 1950s (USA) or the 1960s (Europe). They directly apply the latest standards without asking what was before or what needs to change apply them. In old countries, the most difficult to change are human behaviors. This explains why the USA or Europe sometimes seem retarded compared to Asian countries.

[George Pill]

First of all, I like to say I love to read your comments responding to my own and your own. Over the past 7 years of reading theladyboyforums.com I have come to appreciate your intelligence, photos, and discussions all about the wonderous ladyboys of Thailand, and the issues related to them and their beautiful green country. I are indeed intelligent educated gentlemen who must be lucky to live or spend so much time enjoying the many exotic pleasures only a place like Thailand has to offer. Love the fantastic Thai food and dishes that Thailand is famous for and command high prices in other countries. Love that they are so inexpensive that I can enjoy them every single day and still have money left over to the wild sex parties of Nana and Pattaya. Love the shopping centers selling all kinds of things and that there are so many places to visit like Chatuchak Flea Market and Siam Square where you can walk and walk and gawk at the hugely expensive watched that almost no Thai or Foreigner can buy. They are museums. And, of course, the sex trade with its many bars filled with both boys and girls plus the confusing "which are you" gender.

Crag, I am surpised that you luggage locks were cut off and disposed of. So fuggin' rude of America to do this to a Canadian visitor. This kind of behavior is done also by HPD, US Customs Honolulu (accused me of pedophilia on 12-15-15), all across America. The terrorists are winning. The US government if the forms of US Customs, ICE, FBI, Justice Department, Inspector General (brushed off my complaint), Homeland Security et al have become so paranoid that they threw the baby out with the bathwater. The terrorists LOL because they have NO COMMON SENSE. When ICE investigators finally called me 5 months after the insult, the Cuban female with the last name of DeArmas asked only two simple questions. "Were they in uniform?" "Did they show PROBABLE CAUSE?" I replied, "Yes, the foreman was a Samoan" and "Yes," What was funny was she was shaking her head back and forth sideways like she was answering my question for me. Why ask if she knows the answer. Since then I thought she was corrupt. I asked if there was a written report showing my laptop, computers, and SD cards were really sent to mainland for inspection. She replied yes. Then I asked to see this report. She said I have to write to get it. I asked who do I write to? She said the department for FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT. Funny thing is she wouldn't look at my eyes while she was asking these pointed question. I asked if there was a LAW against visiting Thailand for 2 months. She was laughing when she said no. Didn't even explain why I was picked out of crowded plane after an 18 hour trip. She was totally covering up the incident. She knew the US Customs fucked up badly. I did tell the questioning dumb ass Japanese girl just out of high school that I was a retired doctor. She flinched. "Hooboy! We're making a big mistake but gotta ask the obnoxious questions otherwise I lose my job." Stupid questions followed, "Have you been to Chiang Mai? Have you been to Cambodia?" I answered, "No, what's there?" twice. Then the next stupid question. "Do you know any pedophiles?" I replied no. "Have you seen any pedophiles?" I answered, " I just told you no twice! Stop asking me stupid redundant questions". After the stupid long hours of elementary school questions, they said ok to leave. BUT they were going to keep my cams, SD cards, and laptop. I was fucking pissed. After 2 months they called through an unlisted number saying they wanted to return my things. I asked, "Did you find any pedophilia?" "No." At that point I YELLED AT THEM as loud as possible. Where'd you get this fucking stupid idea I was a pedophile?! Hurry up and bring my fucking things ow and be prepared to answer my question." About 5 minutes late another call came in. They were going to come IMMEDIATELY". They were sacred shitless because they finally knew they made a stupid ass mistake. Half an hour later the strong men ring my doorbell. One is a stocky thick guy and the other a tall schmuck who wouldn't take off his dark sunglasses. both Japanese. Thinks he can intimidate me with a Mafia act. He stocky guy hands over a box with my goods but with no packing. I asked him politely why did you thing I was a pedophilia? "We're just doing our jobs." I asked the same question and got the same answer twice. He was trying not to be scare, and I was laughing inside. I wss beginning to enjoy myself. Then Mr. Mafia wannabe enforcer yells at, "Prostitution is illegal in Thailand!" I yelled back, "Does the US have any jurisdiction in Thailand prostitution?" He replies, "Just because we found no pedophilia does not mean you are not a pedophile!" I stared at him about a full minute in total silence. I could not return my stare. They sure hired dumbass motherfuckers in US Customs. I told them to wait while I check if they erased by SD cards and inspect my cameras for damage. All okay, but I make them wait for 5 more minutes just to punish them like naughty school kids in the storage closet. Came out and asked them the same question again. They short stocky guy was still bending his head down like he was preparing for a roundhouse punch to the side of head. Fun bullying a bully. The tall Nip was still scared hiding behind his sunglasses. I signed the release form and let them go. Then went to my computer and typed a long 4 page letter about what happened at Custom from the shakedown of 1-15-19 to this return of my property. Sad to say but Representative Tulsi Gabbard who you are seeing on TV with the Democratic debates wrote back that I was not in her district. Last I heard she was disqualified for future debates. Something about fund raising. She's not popular enough. She's still a freshman representative. Wants to be a media clown. The other rep and 2 Senators either did NOT address my civil rights complaint or told me to write to the government Inspector General. They didn't care and also ignored me. My 4th Amendment was violated. Finally I send a copy of my letter to Senator Brian Schatz to the Attorney General's Office. She responded after a month and a half wait. She agreed my 4th was violated and would send a copy to the FBI. The the visit by ICE. Someone asked me why ICE? I said ICE stand for Immigration and Customs Enforcement, thus, fall within the jurisdiction of US Customs. Oh. Guess what. After that ICE conversation I never heard back from anybody. Even wrote a letter and visited the Justice Department office, but no one would meet with me. I realized I was scammed by my own US Government. Civil rights is just a MYTH as I learned from political science in college. Just SHIBAI Japanese for bull shit). A friend later informed me that the House passes a law removing the need for inspecting criminal records to apply for Border Security. Why? Not enough persons were passing the requirement. Now they gotta hire dumb and evil shitheads to actually protect our security. MIght as well hire the Hell's Angels. Hahaha.

I don't thing the US Customs, ICE, or HS cared about me. They just swept my case under fuckin rug. They are just taking advantage of technicalities to violate our human rights. It's like living under Communistic countries. We Americans are being protected by stupid heads with no college degrees who are unclean. Reminds me of a funny line in a Thai news editorial, "If the cops want to arrest criminals, they should arrest themselves."

In all honesty, I did get a bit of revenge. That cocky beefy 250 pound male Cuban with just a high school degree was asked, "What is the penalty for assault of a federal officer?" He couldn't look into my eyes. After the interview he was happy to end the interview and stood up. He offered his hand to shake. I gently shook his hand and ambushed him with same question,

"What is the penalty for assault of a federal officer?"

He literally crouched and pulled his hand back. He was scared he wasn't going to get his hand back. The female spick just said, "Awwwwww." The big guy was still cowering like I burned his hand. Fuck you, US Customs. Wonder if she wrote about this incident in her report.

I think the Justice Department, Congressmen, ICE, HS, IS, and the entire government apparatus is corrupt. I was a fool to believe in the words of the Russia, China VietNam, Cambodia, Thailand, and Europe etal. I think it's time to visit a ladyboy tonight.