A bungling British tourist lost his cool while going through airport security - before throwing a tantrum which allegedly caused cocaine to fall from his pocket.
A British tourist has been charged with importing illegal drugs into Thailand after a bizarre tantrum at the airport allegedly led to a packet of cocaine falling from his pocket.
Marc Patrick Wharton, 42, was arriving at the resort island of Phuket on a flight fromtarget="_self"> Shanghai when cops selected him for further questioning.
Reportedly enraged by being singled out, the irate Brit went on a rampage inside the terminal and rolled on the floor like a toddler.
The busted Brit rolled on the floor before his arrest. Photo / ViralPress
But Wharton’s temper tantrum only got worse when a bag of cocaine fell from his pocket and split open on the floor.
Seeming to realise that he now faced the full force of Thai justice and a possible life sentence, Wharton’s flailing intensified and he screamed for help and slapped his own chest as onlookers filmed the February 18 incident.
His legs thrust into the air and his stomach protruding from the bottom of his shirt, he yelled he was going to die before he was arrested and taken into custody.
The cocaine on the floor of the airport. Photo / ViralPress
Major Akkarapon Akkraphon, immigration checkpoint inspector at the airport, said: “We charged the tourist with importing a Category II narcotic into the country and illegally possessing it. He was handed over to the inquiry officer of the Sakhu police station for legal action.”
Anyone importing, producing, or exporting a Category II drug faces a jail sentence in Thailand, with some offenders facing life behind bars in the country’s notorious penal system.
More than 100kg of cocaine has been discovered in a smuggler’s bags at Auckland International Airport.
Customs believes the 101kg, found on February 15, is the largest amount of cocaine found at a New Zealand airport.
Customs was concerned the number of seizures at the airport had been steadily increasing in recent years, group manager for border operations Dana McDonald said.
The estimated street value of the Class A drug was $35.4 million, and would have caused $37.8m in social harm to New Zealand communities.
Customs officers were doing routine border enforcement when they checked bags arriving off a Hawaiian Airlines flight.
Officers found 85 bricks of a substance wrapped in black film and clear plastic wrapping. Tests returned a positive result for cocaine.
