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>US authorities arrested Vallerius in September last year, at the Atlanta airport after he arrived in the US to attend and participate in the World Beard and Mu
by cf498 8y ago
>US authorities arrested Vallerius in September last year, at the Atlanta airport after he arrived in the US to attend and participate in the World Beard and Mustache Championships that was being held in Austin, Texas.
And is facing a life sentence.
Dont travel to such countries. Never ever period.
Crossing a border is a big decision, no matter how cheap the tickets are. I dont get people who keep doing this, its not like those are split second decisions.
Why in your right mind would you do this without carefully considering what the effects of you being in that country might be. I had female friends talking about going to holiday in Dubai, another friend with a Turkish passport visited his family in the south east recently.
Think for a moment for gods sake.
- tylersmith 8y agoOverconfidence is one of OPSECs biggest vulnerabilities. He was much safer in France but clearly felt he was completely under the radar. Using LocalBitcoin accounts directly is a big sign that he didn't fully understand how deeply he was in a mess.
- nighthawk1 8y agoSimilarly when these folks hang out in countries that would happily extradite to the USA. The smarter ones thought ahead about such matters.
- giarc 8y agoHe obviously didn't know they had his identity, but I would agree, if running a criminal enterprise, be careful where you go.
- cf498 8y agoNot just then. Your local laws and rights dont mean shit in your holiday destination. This should be the very first question you ask yourself when traveling.
- tylersmith 8y agoHell, even when traveling domestically to other states you should ask that question and research where you're going.
- cf498 8y agoThe states concept is something that is mostly relevant to the US. The different in states in for example Germany is extremly limited.
- AdamM12 8y agoI feel like this is really only relevant to gun laws/hunting. Not sure what other laws are as swiss cheese as they are.
- jonhendry18 8y agoThere's also pot legalization differences between states, combined with Federal concerns. Go to Colorado and buy some edibles, you're fine. Carry some over the border into Kansas, and not only are you breaking Kansas law, but if caught they may hand you over to the Feds and penalties may be severe. (Crossing a state border makes it a Federal issue.)
- AdamM12 8y agoYeah kind forgot about that.
- SamReidHughes 8y agoCorrect me if I'm wrong but it's a federal issue and can be enforced even if you don't cross state lines. There's a drug case where Scalia seemingly ignored his previous opinion about what can be regulated as "interstate commerce" that I remember.
- jonhendry18 8y agoTrue, I'm sure there's something they can get you on without crossing state lines, but in a legal-pot state at least the local cops probably won't turn you in.
- kbenson 8y ago> if running a criminal enterprise, be careful where you go. More specifically, and more commonly, if you have or will break local laws in a country, be careful of visiting there. In some locations, that means don't be gay, or don't be a women out of a specific outfit, etc.
- forapurpose 8y agoThat's quite an attitude toward international travel, something practiced by millions of people for business and pleasure every day.
- cf498 8y agoWho hopefully keep in mind the consequences. You (hopefully) wouldnt travel to Somalia, the fact that other countries arent in headlines doesnt mean they are a safe destination.
- nine_k 8y agoFew of them run major criminal operations. Hence the presumption of safety when traveling to "safe and civilized" countries.
- pjc50 8y agoAlways read the small print. Every now and again someone forgets that other countries can be quite different. Drugs policies are the usual one e.g. https://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/travelnews/7801410/Dubai-warning-to-travellers-over-prescription-medicine.html https://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/travelnews/7801410/Dubai-... .. but it's also possible to become an accidental tourist in someone else's civil war. Or, in the case of this guy, forget that committing crimes internationally can make you wanted in the US.
- pcthrowaway 8y agoJust to clarify, he was sentenced to 20 years (with the plea deal). If he's lucky, he may get out in 10.
- cf498 8y agoI just recently learned about the parole system in the US, do I understand it correctly, that he wouldnt be allowed to leave the country until the 20 years are up?
- tylersmith 8y agoMost likely yes that is correct. I'm not a lawyer but I think it's _possible_ a judge could allow them to leave the country but I doubt they frequently do allow that. Often they're restricted much more precisely than nationwide. How does it work outside the US? Is there no parole or do they typically allow you to leave the country? Edit: said bail instead of parole
- cf498 8y agoDoes it end with the initial sentence or can it be longer?
- tylersmith 8y agoNo, they won't extend the initial sentence unless he commits another crime (then it's technically a different sentence). The worst that can happen is you get denied parole all the way up to your full initial sentence and then you're let out.
- cf498 8y agoThanks for your explanation, that part was unclear to me.
- Buge 8y agoI'm pretty sure bail is different than parole. Bail comes before sentencing, parole comes after the jail/prison time.
- throwawayjava 8y agoAlternative advice: don't become a drug dealer.
- pstuart 8y agoThose drugs aren’t gonna sell themselves
- deltateam 8y ago> I had female friends talking about going to holiday in Dubai You get a 1-dimensional perspective every time something local goes wrong and is masqueraded as international news. Its like if a civil rights violation from one US city on any given day was elevated to the world stage. It would sound like much more of a nightmare than anything going on in the UAE. Most females I've talked to absolutely love Dubai and Abu Dhabi. Even people that have moved there. The best analogy to the experience is Disney World. Lots of thrills, and adult sexual behavior is stifled, except for minor infractions instead of simply thrown out of the park you'll be thrown in a horrible prison. The fact of the matter is that you're not one of the slaves. That side of things won't be your experience. You hope you don't get sexually assaulted and judicially victim blamed, and thats the same anywhere.
- newfoundglory 8y agoMost women I know wouldn't go there - including myself. Maybe we run in different circles.
- sundvor 8y agoYeah, you read about women reporting rape, then being jailed for extramarital sex, and realise that ... no, just no.
- deleted 8y ago[deleted]
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- s73v3r_ 8y ago"And is facing a life sentence. Dont travel to such countries. Never ever period." Wouldn't the proper thing to take away is, "don't become a drug kingpin"?
- laretluval 8y agoYou don't become a prominent online drug vendor because of a careful, risk-averse disposition.
- pjc50 8y ago> Crossing a border is a big decision, no matter how cheap the tickets are. While generally I agree with you, some are trivial. Especially where the EU has gone to great effort to make them trivial to cross. Or where they are fractal and run through houses: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baarle-Nassau https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baarle-Nassau
- jonhendry18 8y agoIt's completely trivial to cross between states inside the US, but if the next state over legalizes marijuana, and you take a road trip to bring back some weed and edibles, by crossing state lines your road trip may become a Federal drug trafficking offense, with severe penalties if caught. Even the easiest border crossing can carry significant risks depending on the context.