Phuket –
Two overstaying Nigerian men found possessing cocaine and a Thai woman were arrested in Thalang for alleged involvement in a romance scam.
The Phuket Tourist Police told the Phuket Express that on Thursday (February 8th) they arrested the wanted Thai suspect, identified only as Ms. Kanyanat, 32, at a housing estate in Thep Krasattri sub-district.
The arrest warrant was issued by the Samut Prakan Provincial Court. She is being accused of fraud by importing distorted information into a computer system.
Police also arrested two Nigerian men at the house. One of them was on 1,401 days of overstay. He was found with 8 grams of cocaine and the other man was on 1,728 days overstay.
The Nigerian men admitted that they were in a romance scam gang which involved letting Thai women to open back accounts for them. After they received money from Thai female victims, they transferred money to the head of a romance scam gang in Nigeria. They also sold cocaine to foreign tourists as their second job.
The names of the Nigerian suspects were not released to the Thai media.
All three suspects remained in Thai law enforcement custody as of press time.
