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Freed from Thai drug nightmare

From the Telegraph & Argus, first published Friday 18th Feb 2005.

A former Bradford publican convicted of drugs charges in Thailand has won his appeal against a six-year jail sentence.

Kevin Quill, who spent time in the notorious Chonburi jail for attempting to smuggle amphetamine pills back to England, was today celebrating clearing his name after five years and waiting to fly back to West Yorkshire to be reunited with family and friends.

The 43-year-old millionaire businessman, who formerly ran the city's Fighting Cock, Diplomat and Idle Cock pubs, has always maintained his innocence.

He claimed the drugs had been planted on him by two British businessmen intent on stealing his assets.

He claimed the pair had persuaded him to invest in a joint venture before colluding with local police to convict him so they could take over his business interests. Thai police later admitted there had been a set-up and apologised.

Although Mr Quill was freed on bail after seven months behind bars, a Thai judge banned him from returning to the UK and ruled he had to wait for his appeal hearing in Thailand.

But now the father-of-two must wait 28 more days to give the prosecution a chance to appeal against the hearing's verdict. If they don't, then he vows he will be on the first plane home.

In prison he had shared a ten-metre room with 90 other cellmates, shed three stones in weight and suffered boils and scabies which covered his body.

In an exclusive interview with the Telegraph & Argus, Mr Quill praised British Embassy and Foreign Office support.

He described how he got through the agonising wait for Wednesday's hearing "living on his nerves" by managing a hotel and bar business in Pattaya and raising funds for local orphanages.

He said: "I love Thailand but I love England and have never missed it so much in these past almost five years that I have not been allowed to return.

"I want to come home, see my family and friends and take stock before I make any decisions about the future and where I will spend it.

"I'm elated the appeal hearing believed in me but I can still hardly believe it's all over. I've been living on my nerves."

Mr Quill was arrested in October 2001 after police found 100 `yaa-baa' tablets (a cheap Thai amphetamine drug) hidden in cartons of cigarettes as he drove to Bangkok airport.

He admitted trying to bring home tobacco illegally but said the drugs were planted inside by business rivals.

"I held my hands up to the cigarettes straight away. It was a stupid, stupid thing to do but the drugs were nothing to do with me.

"I've been on a knife's edge these past five years hanging on to hope they would believe in me at the appeal. Thankfully they listened and were very fair.

"I only managed to get through all this with the support from various British officials, my family, friends and keeping myself busy overseeing my hotel's books and doing some charity work for local orphans.

"A lot of work has gone in to clearing my name. It's taken a lot of time and effort to get the facts presented to the court. I still feel I have to be careful about what I say about the authorities because I still have to get through the next 28 days. I'm hoping the prosecution will let it rest now.

"I still need to get the court's ruling translated into English and take it to the British Embassy, then I'll feel even better.

"I don't think at this stage I'll be trying to sue the Thai police for getting involved in the set-up. The evidence is on my side but pinning it down to who was responsible on their side would be difficult. I'm just so glad it's finished. I need time to get my brain around it.

"I'm just enjoying being myself at the moment. I don't seem to want anyone around me yet. I've been swimming lots, looking at the sun and thinking how lucky and free I am."

A Foreign Office spokesman confirmed Kevin Quill's appeal had been heard on Wednesday and the judge had dismissed the case. She said Mr Quill was due to be released the same day.

She added: "We would not make any further comment, but we would be pleased that he is grateful for the service we have provided to him."

Mr Quill's sister Lorraine Hawkesworth said his family, who live in Halifax and Todmorden, were planning a welcome party for his homecoming.

"The drinks will be on him. We just want to get these last few days over now so we can get him home. Even though he's been acquitted it's still nerve-wracking waiting for the time limit to pass until we're sure the prosecution won't appeal. It's not likely but it's still a frightening possibility we can't totally rule out," she said.

And added: "We don't want anymore hiccups or any more delays.

"He has changed so much since he was first arrested. He looks so different, much older than he did but he's been through so much and so have we.

"It's been a difficult time for us all, me, his mother and his two sons. We've missed him so much."

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