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Lufthansa Cargo? Try the Transport Secretary's place instead

Lufthansa Cargo? Try the Transport Secretary's place instead

Old Nov 19, 2011, 11:02 am
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Lufthansa Cargo? Try the Transport Secretary's place instead

The theives who pulled off the legendary Lufthansa Cargo heist at JFK in the late '70s netted about $6 Million.

Theives in Bangkok who recently knocked over the (not so permanent anymore) Permanent Transport Secretary's house have reportedly confessed to walking out with 200 million baht in cash. That's about $6.5 Million at today's exchange rates.

Granted, $6 Mill in the seventies was worth a lot more than $6 Mill today. But the only reason the theives didn't take more was that they couldn't carry it all! The gang ringleader claims to have found between 700 million and one Billion baht at the Secretary's house. That's between $23 and $35 Million, give or take.

Now, as we all know, the highest-denomination banknote in Thailand is 1000 baht. Worth about $33 today. And it's physically a little bigger than the hundred-dollar bill. So a million dollars' in cash in baht is physically a whole lot larger than a million dollars in hundred-dollar bills. Just sayin'.

The National Anti-Corruption Commission has opened an investigation into the Secretary's unusual wealth. And banking habits.

Bangkok post article.

Perhaps the best evidence of the Secretary's innocence of corruption is what he did after discovering he'd been robbed: he called the police. I mean, if I were a corrupt bureaucrat sitting on $25 million in cash who'd been robbed of $6 Million, I'd let the six go, gather up the rest, pay some overweight baggage charges, hop the next TG to ZRH, and make a deposit at one of those little private banks on Banhofstrasse. I wouldn't be ringing the police, that's for sure.
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Old Nov 19, 2011, 5:33 pm
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And his excuse was that it was dowry for his daughter's wedding. Now I really don't know if someone is "worth" that much!!!
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Old Nov 19, 2011, 5:43 pm
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Originally Posted by peteropny
And his excuse was that it was dowry for his daughter's wedding. Now I really don't know if someone is "worth" that much!!!
For that kind of dowry, I'd considering switching teams.

For a little while.
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Old Nov 19, 2011, 7:08 pm
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These high-value home burglaries are actually pretty common here, and for obvious reasons, often go unreported. Thais generally mistrust banks as this means someone else knows how much they have, and given the recent safe-deposit scandal at BBL those are not an option. Take a look in any mall on the "furniture floor" and ask yourself why there are huge stores selling safes. And gold is essentially an unregulated second currency so expect most of these big burglaries involve gold and other valuables rather than 1,000 baht notes.

In the case the OP posts I believe it was the burglar who surfaced the crime rather than the "victim"?

And usually the groom pays the "Sin Sod" to the bride's family, although they usually give it back as a wedding gift in the form of property. There have been some very large Sin Sods paid here in the upper-crust/celebrity relationships, which only become public as a result of a pre-wedding break-up; woman is shocked to find out man has like 30 girls in his recent call list when looking at his mobile.

By far the most interesting home burglary involving a Thai was the Saudi Gem Theft in 1989. Several very prominent individuals were photographed wearing some of these gems, and the famed Blue Diamond is, well....best not to discuss that.
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