{"id":581,"date":"2021-02-18T08:23:00","date_gmt":"2021-02-18T08:23:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/davidmcmillan.net\/index.php\/about\/"},"modified":"2022-02-17T22:39:15","modified_gmt":"2022-02-17T22:39:15","slug":"about","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/davidmcmillan.net\/index.php\/about\/","title":{"rendered":"About"},"content":{"rendered":"<h1>About David &#8211; who Is He?<\/h1>\n<p>A brief outline of the retired smuggler<\/p>\n<p>\t\t\t\u201c\t\t<\/p>\n<h2>My career in the legitimate world didn&#8217;t last long. By 18, i&#8217;d stopped being a camera operator and started crossing borders with contraband. This soon meant building my own equipment, arranging false passports and making contacts in source countries around the world. By the time I was 24, i&#8217;d made millions but had major police task forces on my case<\/h2>\n<p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" width=\"129\" height=\"64\" src=\"https:\/\/davidmcmillan.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/signature-gold.svg\" alt=\"\" loading=\"lazy\" \/>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<h5>David McMillan<\/h5>\n<p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"903\" src=\"https:\/\/davidmcmillan.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/DMcM-studio-CU-sq-Aug-2020-1024x903.jpg\" alt=\"\" loading=\"lazy\" srcset=\"https:\/\/davidmcmillan.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/DMcM-studio-CU-sq-Aug-2020-1024x903.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/davidmcmillan.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/DMcM-studio-CU-sq-Aug-2020-300x265.jpg 300w, https:\/\/davidmcmillan.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/DMcM-studio-CU-sq-Aug-2020-768x678.jpg 768w, https:\/\/davidmcmillan.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/DMcM-studio-CU-sq-Aug-2020.jpg 1036w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<h6>The story of<\/h6>\n<h2>David McMillan<\/h2>\n<p>In 1996, David McMillan was held in Thailand\u2019s infamous Bangkok Hilton prison. As his near-certain death sentence approached, he escaped from the maximum-security jail and disappeared into the hinterlands of Baluchistan, Pakistan. Despite Interpol alerts, McMillan continued his smuggling trade, although at a low level. Even so, he was caught and imprisoned several times.<\/p>\n<p>Eventually settling to a modest life in London \u2013 far removed from the high life and wealth of his twenties \u2013 he wrote and published Escape: The True Story of the Only Westerner Ever to Break Out of Thailand&#8217;s Bangkok Hilton. The book was successful, and did not go unnoticed in Thailand. A slow but relentless process began to return McMillan to chains in Bangkok..<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tWith Unforgiving Destiny \u2013 The Relentless Pursuit of a Black Marketeer, David McMillan brings together the threads of his successes and misadventures.\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/li>\n<li>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tHe details his large courier operations, his links in Colombia and to the mafia in New York City, and the mini empire he had built.\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/li>\n<li>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tThen, the downfall, as his couriers turned state witnesses, resulting in a long prison term.\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3>Falls &#038; Rises<\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t1996\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>After his Thailand escape, McMillan became Western advisor to a tribal lord on the Afghanistan border before creating a new life and identity in London.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t1998\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Long haunted by the death of his first wife a decade earlier, McMillan courts and wins the English girl who cannot know his past. Yet a call to Afghanistan during Taliban rule, destroys, again, all he has built.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t1999\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Freed from the torture cells in Karachi, McMillan begins once more. The observer may condemn his ethics, yet admire his resilience.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t2000 &#8211; 2012\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>\u201cThe only linking cord over those years,\u201d writes McMillan, \u201cwas DEA man Bill Shenkmann \u2014 he appeared before me for all the major arrests.\u201d That twine of the US agent\u2019s obsession binds this 37-year chronicle together, as McMillan survives alone, culminating with the final attempt in 2016 to extradite him through the London courts.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t2016\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>David McMillan overturns the extradition case, then on the desk of the UK Secretary of State in London.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tToday\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>David, finally retired, speaks from his YouTube channel and writes when he has the energy.<\/p>\n<p>https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=if72Hhd3BYM<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>About David &#8211; who Is He? A brief outline of the retired smuggler \u201c My career in the legitimate world didn&#8217;t last long. By 18, i&#8217;d stopped being a camera operator and started crossing borders with contraband. This soon meant building my own equipment, arranging false passports and making contacts in source countries around the &hellip;<\/p>\n<p class=\"read-more\"> <a class=\"\" href=\"https:\/\/davidmcmillan.net\/index.php\/about\/\"> <span class=\"screen-reader-text\">About<\/span> Read More &raquo;<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":933,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"no-sidebar","site-content-layout":"page-builder","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"disabled","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"disabled","footer-sml-layout":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"enabled","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-581","page","type-page","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.4 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>About - David McMillan<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/davidmcmillan.net\/index.php\/about\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"About - David McMillan\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"About David &#8211; who Is He? A brief outline of the retired smuggler \u201c My career in the legitimate world didn&#8217;t last long. By 18, i&#8217;d stopped being a camera operator and started crossing borders with contraband. This soon meant building my own equipment, arranging false passports and making contacts in source countries around the &hellip; About Read More &raquo;\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/davidmcmillan.net\/index.php\/about\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"David McMillan\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2022-02-17T22:39:15+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/davidmcmillan.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/escape-the-true-story-of-the-only-westerner-ever-to-escape-from-thailand-s-bangkok-hilton.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1200\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1848\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"5 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/davidmcmillan.net\\\/index.php\\\/about\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/davidmcmillan.net\\\/index.php\\\/about\\\/\",\"name\":\"About - David McMillan\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/davidmcmillan.net\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/davidmcmillan.net\\\/index.php\\\/about\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/davidmcmillan.net\\\/index.php\\\/about\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/davidmcmillan.net\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2021\\\/11\\\/escape-the-true-story-of-the-only-westerner-ever-to-escape-from-thailand-s-bangkok-hilton.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2021-02-18T08:23:00+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2022-02-17T22:39:15+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/davidmcmillan.net\\\/index.php\\\/about\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/davidmcmillan.net\\\/index.php\\\/about\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/davidmcmillan.net\\\/index.php\\\/about\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/davidmcmillan.net\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2021\\\/11\\\/escape-the-true-story-of-the-only-westerner-ever-to-escape-from-thailand-s-bangkok-hilton.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/davidmcmillan.net\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2021\\\/11\\\/escape-the-true-story-of-the-only-westerner-ever-to-escape-from-thailand-s-bangkok-hilton.jpg\",\"width\":1200,\"height\":1848},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/davidmcmillan.net\\\/index.php\\\/about\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/davidmcmillan.net\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"About\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/davidmcmillan.net\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/davidmcmillan.net\\\/\",\"name\":\"David McMillan\",\"description\":\"David McMillan Website\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/davidmcmillan.net\\\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/davidmcmillan.net\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/davidmcmillan.net\\\/#organization\",\"name\":\"David McMillan\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/davidmcmillan.net\\\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/davidmcmillan.net\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/davidmcmillan.net\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2022\\\/02\\\/Sig-DMcM.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/davidmcmillan.net\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2022\\\/02\\\/Sig-DMcM.png\",\"width\":1796,\"height\":803,\"caption\":\"David McMillan\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/davidmcmillan.net\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\"}}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"About - David McMillan","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/davidmcmillan.net\/index.php\/about\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"About - David McMillan","og_description":"About David &#8211; who Is He? A brief outline of the retired smuggler \u201c My career in the legitimate world didn&#8217;t last long. By 18, i&#8217;d stopped being a camera operator and started crossing borders with contraband. This soon meant building my own equipment, arranging false passports and making contacts in source countries around the &hellip; About Read More &raquo;","og_url":"https:\/\/davidmcmillan.net\/index.php\/about\/","og_site_name":"David McMillan","article_modified_time":"2022-02-17T22:39:15+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1200,"height":1848,"url":"https:\/\/davidmcmillan.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/escape-the-true-story-of-the-only-westerner-ever-to-escape-from-thailand-s-bangkok-hilton.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Est. reading time":"5 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/davidmcmillan.net\/index.php\/about\/","url":"https:\/\/davidmcmillan.net\/index.php\/about\/","name":"About - David McMillan","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/davidmcmillan.net\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/davidmcmillan.net\/index.php\/about\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/davidmcmillan.net\/index.php\/about\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/davidmcmillan.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/escape-the-true-story-of-the-only-westerner-ever-to-escape-from-thailand-s-bangkok-hilton.jpg","datePublished":"2021-02-18T08:23:00+00:00","dateModified":"2022-02-17T22:39:15+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/davidmcmillan.net\/index.php\/about\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/davidmcmillan.net\/index.php\/about\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/davidmcmillan.net\/index.php\/about\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/davidmcmillan.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/escape-the-true-story-of-the-only-westerner-ever-to-escape-from-thailand-s-bangkok-hilton.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/davidmcmillan.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/escape-the-true-story-of-the-only-westerner-ever-to-escape-from-thailand-s-bangkok-hilton.jpg","width":1200,"height":1848},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/davidmcmillan.net\/index.php\/about\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/davidmcmillan.net\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"About"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/davidmcmillan.net\/#website","url":"https:\/\/davidmcmillan.net\/","name":"David McMillan","description":"David McMillan Website","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/davidmcmillan.net\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/davidmcmillan.net\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/davidmcmillan.net\/#organization","name":"David McMillan","url":"https:\/\/davidmcmillan.net\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/davidmcmillan.net\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/davidmcmillan.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/Sig-DMcM.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/davidmcmillan.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/Sig-DMcM.png","width":1796,"height":803,"caption":"David McMillan"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/davidmcmillan.net\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"}}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/davidmcmillan.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/581","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/davidmcmillan.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/davidmcmillan.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/davidmcmillan.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/davidmcmillan.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=581"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/davidmcmillan.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/581\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/davidmcmillan.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/933"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/davidmcmillan.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=581"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}