Thai police have apprehended a Nigerian man and two Thai women in connection with the seizure of 65.5 kilogrammes of heroin in Bangkok, Thailand. The operation was disclosed by Pol Col Jetnipat Siriwat, a superintendent with the Crime Suppression Division, in a statement released on Wednesday, May 20, 2026.
The suspects are believed to be part of a Nigerian romance scam network that lured Thai women into drug trafficking activities within Thailand. The Nigerian suspect, identified only as Obi, was arrested on Monday, May 18, at a hotel on Phatthanakan Road in the Suan Luang district of Bangkok.
Authorities also arrested a woman named Kanyarat at an apartment on Navamin Soi 42 in the Bung Kum district. Another woman, identified as Somporn, was taken into custody at the southern bus terminal in Bangkok.
According to Pol Col Jetnipat, the 65.5kg of heroin, valued at approximately 200 million baht, was smuggled from Laos into Nong Khai province in northeastern Thailand. Obi allegedly stored the heroin at the hotel before packaging it for distribution to dealers who would sell the drugs at tourist destinations in Bangkok, Pattaya, and Phuket.
Somporn stated that she was about to board a bus to Phuket to deliver the heroin to dealers in the southern province when police intercepted her. Both Obi and Somporn claimed that they received the heroin from Kanyarat.
The drugs were concealed in snack and pet feed packages. Police discovered 49.5kg of heroin in Obi's possession and 16kg with Somporn. Pol Col Jetnipat explained that a Nigerian gang used romance scams to entice Thai women, subsequently hiring them to distribute drugs for 30,000 baht per delivery.
“The Nigerian scammers were not in Thailand and the three arrested suspects did not know one another,” he said.
