A THAI student who was detained by US immigration officials for carrying a massage oil spray and capsules of the Thai herb fah talai jone has now been repatriated and banned from entering the country for five years, Amarin TV said this afternoon (June 11).
Fox 5 Atlanta reported earlier this week that Miss Sirindha Jinparu, 21, was taken to US immigration detention centre on suspicion of bringing drugs into the country after arriving at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport on May 14 with her stepfather, Joe DeBose, and her 12-year-old sister from Bangkok.
DeBose said Sirindha ran into an issue as she went through customs.The officials claimed that she was carrying drugs, which was in fact a massage spray containing cannabidiol (CBD) with no more than legally required 3 percent tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) from cannabis and used to relieve aches and pains as well as some capsules of the Thai herb fah talai jone (andrographis paniculata / king of bitters) believed to help in the treatment of coronavirus.
Both items had been given to her by her mother.
DeBose said the Atlanta Police Department was called over, but the officers didn’t arrest her.
“However, in that time period of when they were going to charge her, they revoked her visa that she was travelling on. So, when they gave her back to ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement), she was now a person travelling without a visa,” he said.
She was taken into ICE custody.
“I keep telling her, you didn’t do anything wrong. This was just a whole series of mistakes that have gotten us here,’ he said.
Sirindha lives in Thailand and goes to school here. However, her biological father is a US citizen, a former Sergeant Major in US Army Special Forces.
DeBose, a retired Marine, and her biological father have provided the necessary documentation to prove her claim to US citizenship.
“That was denied because of lack of DNA evidence, which her biological father was happy to provide,” DeBose said. “ICE isn’t willing to cooperate with a DNA test. They essentially have told me … it’s basically a done deal as far as they’re concerned. They’re sending her back.”
The family had launched a fundraiser on the gofundme website. They added that while in custody officials threatened, yelled and scolded her as well as criticised her appearance in order to frighten her.
CAPTION:
Sirindha, above, and some capsules of fah talai jone, Home Page. Photos; Amarin TV /Fox 5 Atlanta
