Drug searched.

Riding back to Pattaya from Na Jomtien through the back roads at about 6.30pm I was stopped by a couple of police. They gave the bike a good search and even opened the plastic bags the bike's documentation was in. They asked if I smoked marijuana to which I replied I hadn't for over twenty years. Twice, one of them mentioned a pee test to which I said that if they wanted to then I was happy to go along with it. A small part of me wanted them to because it all adds to the tapestry of life in general and a trip to Pattaya in particular.
After confirming that I wasn't either a user or a dealer they wished me well and sent me on my way. They never mentioned the fact I wasn't wearing a helmet.

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Originally Posted by arsenal

.. Twice, one of them mentioned a pee test to which I said that if they wanted to then I was happy to go along with it..

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I bet you'd have been even happier had they suggested a body cavity search

:))

Well Scottish one of them was actually a bit of a looker and a sad loss to the escort industry.

There are some pretty lonely roads between Threpassit Rd and Na Jomtien. Being stopped in remote places by anyone spooks me. Perhaps the BIB have noticed a big increase in drug use by farangs but if so it would make sense to raid crowded locations like Soi Buackow where the farangs are.
Most farangs on these country roads are going fishing.
I think this was an opportunistic fishing incident of a different kind.
The thorough search of the bike was the main purpose.
Who knows what they might find that you had long forgotton?- that half full sachet of Kamagra, that copy viagra pill you lost, that porn video you bought from a boy on the beach cos he was cute but never opened and so on.
These are times and places when you don't speak good english nor even bad Thai.
Telling him you once smoked weed could easily be taken up the wrong way.
But all's well that ends well.

Thaiguest: Some valid points made. However if there is one thing I've noticed it's that the Thai police seem to have set tasks to do and from my experience don't deviate from that. This was a drugs check and within the context I felt no concern about telling them about something that happened twenty years ago. There are times and places for helmet traps, foreign driving permit traps and on this occasion, a drugs checkpoint.
If they had wanted to do something then anything I do or don't say isn't going to make any difference now is it? And I don't buy any of those things.

Lucky you is all I can say as these days being stopped down a quiet back alley Soi by the police in Pattaya I'd probably be more worried about it might be that they're planning on planting on me or my bike in order to extract some funds from me rather than what it is they might find ! I think I'd probably more be being thankful that I'd just had a lucky escape in getting away from them with my wallet intact that time more like ! :-(

NIrish: I know of cases where people have been framed by police. But if I worried too much about something like that then there really would be no point going there at all.

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Originally Posted by arsenal

Thaiguest: Some valid points made. However if there is one thing I've noticed it's that the Thai police seem to have set tasks to do and from my experience don't deviate from that. This was a drugs check and within the context I felt no concern about telling them about something that happened twenty years ago. There are times and places for helmet traps, foreign driving permit traps and on this occasion, a drugs checkpoint.
If they had wanted to do something then anything I do or don't say isn't going to make any difference now is it? And I don't buy any of those things.

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Yes. The fact that the lack of a helmet wasn't an issue backs up your theory that it was a stop focused on drugs alone.
I have also noticed that Thai police have tunnel vision when they arrive on a crime scene.
If they're called to a robbery they will ignore the wife being choked by the husband next door cos this is a new case.
However I still remember being stopped by a joint police/army checkpoint last year on a quiet road near the football stadium as you drive across 3rd rd past Flybird going towards Threpassit Rd.
The police checked all my documents, every cavity on my bike (though not on me thankfully) and asked me all kinds of questions -even if I had a Thai wife.
Finally one of the military policemen walked over and stood between the regular cop and me and said simply "Sir, you can go".
It looked like he stepped in to show who was boss.
Needless to say I went.
But it was a spooky experience.

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Originally Posted by arsenal

They never mentioned the fact I wasn't wearing a helmet.

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There are (at least) 2 different types of mounted police in Pattaya

-The white helmeted guys are traffic police and they are concerned with traffic violations such as helmets, drivers licenses, road traffic accidents etc
-The gold helmeted guys are the real cops and interested in drugs, murder, violence, assault etc

Neither will interfere with the others jurisdiction. So a gold helmet will drive right past an RTA, or a White helmet will drive right past a street brawl

There are even more types. I once drove past a police checkpoint in Pattaya without helmet with a Thai friend. I asked him why they didn't stop us: immigration police, they are looking for illegal immigrants.

I vaguely remember police in three different styles of uniform at Aranyaprathet railway station and on train.

Time as well. Morning and afternoon is catch the helmetless and licenceless but after about 10.00pm that ceases to become any kind of issue. Although a policeman once turned around and followed me to tell me that I should wear a helmet but it was after 10.00pm so no action was taken. I suspect that the stop and collect checkpoints are very strictly controlled by the police station otherwise every cop in town would set up shop by the side of the road to collect enough for the new car, family holiday etc.