Three Nigerians arrested for 'selling cocaine in Bangkok'
Three Nigerians were arrested for allegedly selling cocaine in Thailand.
The suspects were detained in separate raids in the Bueng Kum district of Bangkok, where police said they had been supplying drugs to foreign customers.
Police said the first suspect, Emeka Frank Ozoije, 42, routinely distributed drugs to tourists in the area.
They arranged an undercover purchase and arrested him when he arrived outside an entertainment venue with four packages containing around 2.4g of cocaine.
He attempted to flee but cops surrounded his sedan.
Footage shows police, including a cop wearing a green Grab uniform, yelling for Emeka to get out of the car before placing the suspect in handcuffs. Marked banknotes used in the sting operation were seized from him.
Using the leads he provided, investigators then tracked down a second suspect, Chdera Augustine Uzofzie, 21, believed to be part of the same network.
He was arrested at a restaurant in the Ram Inthra-Nawamin area of Bangkok.
Officers discovered that Chdera had overstayed his visa by 894 days and arrested him for remaining in Thailand beyond his permitted period of stay.
A third suspect, Cent Dimkpa, 42, was arrested inside a stash house used to store drugs and coordinate the network's operations. Police reportedly found more than 100g of cocaine in the premises.
Cent, who had no passport or IDs, was charged with possessing cocaine with intent to distribute and entering and remaining in Thailand illegally.
Police Major General Kongchat Liangsomsap, commander of Immigration Division 1, said the operation was directed by Immigration Bureau commissioner Police Lieutenant Gen Noppasil Poolsawat and involved Immigration Division 1 investigators, the Office of the Narcotics Control Board and the Narcotics Suppression Bureau.
He said: 'This operation marks a significant achievement for Immigration Division 1 in dismantling a transnational narcotics network and apprehending foreign criminals who have entered the country to commit crimes.
‘We handed over all three suspects, along with the seized evidence, to the inquiry officers for legal proceedings while continuing to investigate the network.'
The arrest comes as police continue to crack down on Nigerian drug gangs in Thailand.
On October 11, Nigerian suspect Hisom, 32, was arrested in Bangkok after allegedly agreeing to sell 30g of cocaine to an undercover officer for 75,000 baht at a shopping mall in the Ratchada area.
In June, two Nigerian men and a Thai woman were arrested for allegedly luring women into online relationships before recruiting them as drug couriers.
On June 9, another alleged Nigerian drug kingpin identified as Patrick, 36, was arrested at a luxury condominium in Bangkok. He allegedly tried to ram through a police blockade during a raid targeting the Dodorima criminal network, an African-led syndicate linked to drug trafficking and romance scams.
In April, alleged Nigerian drug kingpin Patrick, 47, was arrested for allegedly posing as a pastor while running a cocaine syndicate supplying wealthy clients. Police reportedly seized cocaine, foreign currencies, luxury watches and millions of baht hidden in his bathroom ceiling during raids linked to the network.
