AN INQUIRY is being mounted into the identities of a man and a woman who left Thailand for the Middle East without producing passports after being turned back on Phuket.
The pair at first attempted to to leave on a special flight to the United Arab Emirates from Phuket, but were stopped by Immigration officials when they tried to board the Boeing 737 with seven VIPs, who had passports.
All that is known about the couple is that they claimed to be Americans who had changed their citizenship to Paraguayan, and that they claimed their passports had been lost.
The pair subsequently left Thailand on a flight from Suvarnabhumi Airport in Bangkok.
Transport Minister Sophon Zaram appears to be frustrated that the question of how the two people left Thailand remains unresolved after several months.
The Boeing 737 arrived on Phuket on October 28 to pick up seven people bound for the UAE, but nine people tried to make their way through Immigration at Phuket International Airport.
The couple without passports were refused permission to board the aircraft, which took off as scheduled at 4am on October 29.
The two people, who are believed to have arrived by road from Bangkok, subsequently departed Thailand through Suvarnabhumi airport in the capital.
Phuket International Airport General Manager Prathuang Somkhom was able to confirm the basic circumstances of the investigation as he flew to Bangkok today for more talks about the incident.
The Minister is reportedly anxious because no answers about the identity of the couple have been forthcoming, even though their initial attempt to leave from Thailand via the VIP flight from Phuket took place on October 29.
A special committee of the Transport Ministry has been looking into the matter since then, with concerns about terrorism or drug-smuggling impossible to overlook.
The pair at first attempted to to leave on a special flight to the United Arab Emirates from Phuket, but were stopped by Immigration officials when they tried to board the Boeing 737 with seven VIPs, who had passports.
All that is known about the couple is that they claimed to be Americans who had changed their citizenship to Paraguayan, and that they claimed their passports had been lost.
The pair subsequently left Thailand on a flight from Suvarnabhumi Airport in Bangkok.
Transport Minister Sophon Zaram appears to be frustrated that the question of how the two people left Thailand remains unresolved after several months.
The Boeing 737 arrived on Phuket on October 28 to pick up seven people bound for the UAE, but nine people tried to make their way through Immigration at Phuket International Airport.
The couple without passports were refused permission to board the aircraft, which took off as scheduled at 4am on October 29.
The two people, who are believed to have arrived by road from Bangkok, subsequently departed Thailand through Suvarnabhumi airport in the capital.
Phuket International Airport General Manager Prathuang Somkhom was able to confirm the basic circumstances of the investigation as he flew to Bangkok today for more talks about the incident.
The Minister is reportedly anxious because no answers about the identity of the couple have been forthcoming, even though their initial attempt to leave from Thailand via the VIP flight from Phuket took place on October 29.
A special committee of the Transport Ministry has been looking into the matter since then, with concerns about terrorism or drug-smuggling impossible to overlook.
I think a first place to start asking questions (diplomatic channels) would be the 7 VIPs. A 737 for 7 people? Certainly something involved there if that (737) was only picking up.
If the pair was stopped in Phuket for trying to leave the country without passports, I think they should have been detained, as all know one needs a passport to enter/depart a country, if they had in fact lost their passports, a quick police check would reveal this (if they had been reported stolen), as embassies need to issue a temp passport in order to continue travel to the home country, not another destination, Paraguay is a long ways from the UAE.
Was all out bound flights from BKK under passports or did they slip through there without passports, sorry, the report was kind on unclear on this point, just saying they left.
Posted by Lee on January 19, 2011 15:50