Police in Phuket have arrested 2 Nigerian men and a Thai woman for their part in an online romance scam. Both men had also overstayed their visas and have admitted to trafficking cocaine.
The arrests took place at a house in the sub-district of Thep Kassatri yesterday, February 8. The Phuket Express reports that the authorities were acting on an arrest warrant issued by Samut Prakan Provincial Court.
The warrant was issued for a Thai woman named only as 32 year old Ms Kanyanat, who is accused of inputting false information into a computer system. Two Nigerian nationals at the same property were also detained.
It’s understood one has overstayed his visa by 1,401 days and was also found with 8 grams of cocaine. The other Nigerian man has overstayed by 1,728 days.
Both men have admitted they were part of a romance scam which involved getting Thai women to open bank accounts for them. Once they received funds from the women, they would transfer the money to the gang leader running the scam from Nigeria.
The men, whose names have not been released by the authorities, say they supplemented their income by selling cocaine to foreigners on the island.
SOURCE: The Phuket Express
