Thai police have arrested six Nigerian men accused of operating a romance scam ring from a luxury condominium on the Chao Phraya River in Nonthaburi. The operation relied on AI-generated faces and fake video calls to deceive victims
The investigation was triggered by an unrelated cocaine trafficking case in April 2026. Thai police arrested a 47-year-old Nigerian national named “Patrick” and three accomplices, seizing assets worth 2.5 million baht. Financial records from the drug investigation then led authorities to foreign nationals living in a luxury condominium in Nonthaburi.
The suspects were six Nigerian men aged 23 to 35: Denis (23), Ejikeme (24), Ibekwe (29), Okorom (26), Nwosu (30), and Obielu (35). They lived together in the high-end riverside condo near Phra Nangklao Bridge in Bang Kraso, Mueang Nonthaburi, despite holding student visas—none were enrolled in any school or had regular employment. Five of them had overstayed their visas for periods ranging from 695 to 1,560 days (about 1.9 to 4.3 years).
On May 22, police executed three search warrants on condominium units. When the suspects refused to open their doors, officers forced entry. During the raid, one man attempted to escape by climbing over a balcony, while another was found hiding on a bathroom floor, sending text messages to warn other units.
Police seized 18 mobile phones, three laptops, and three bank passbooks. Some phones were still logged into active romance scam conversations. The group posed as Western professionals such as pilots, U.S. military officers, doctors, and engineers to build romantic relationships with victims, primarily older Thai women. They used AI-generated faces and fake video calls to maintain their personas. Once trust was established, they claimed a valuable package was stuck in customs and demanded a transfer fee for its release. Police also recovered scripts for emotionally manipulative, sexually suggestive conversations designed to push victims toward transferring money.
All six were initially charged with illegal association and immigration overstay. Fraud and romance scam charges are pending as the investigation continues
These recent case is not an isolated event, as Nigerian nationals have been connected to several major romance scam operations in Thailand in recent years. Previous incidents include:
November 2025: Three Thai women were arrested for their involvement in a Nigerian-run romance scam network that defrauded victims of more than 6 billion baht. The network had been active since 2019.
February 2025: A 52-year-old Thai woman was arrested at Hat Yai Airport for allegedly assisting a Nigerian syndicate in a romance scam that involved a fake LinkedIn profile.
October 2024: The Department of Special Investigation (DSI) arrested a Nigerian national named “Christian” as part of “Operation Black Horse Down,” uncovering over 1.2 billion baht linked to more than 1,000 mule accounts.
February 2024: Two Nigerian men and a Thai woman were arrested in Phuket’s Thalang district for operating a romance scam using fake Facebook accounts; the Nigerians had overstayed their visas by 1,401 days and 1,728 days, respectively.
August 2023: A 45-year-old Nigerian man, Ezeneche Uzochukwu Jerome, and 13 Thai accomplices were arrested for a romance scam syndicate that defrauded victims of more than 800 million baht. Jerome had been previously arrested in 2018 for similar offenses.
These cases demonstrate a consistent pattern of Nigerian-led romance scam networks operating in Thailand, often with Thai accomplices facilitating money transfers through mule accounts.
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