Nigerian Drug Network Busted in Bangkok With 65kg of Heroin
Nigerian Drug Network Busted in Bangkok With 65kg of Heroin
BANGKOK, May 20, 2026 — Thai police have arrested a Nigerian man and two Thai women linked to a transnational drug trafficking network accused of smuggling more than 65 kilogrammes of heroin into Thailand from Laos, authorities said.
The arrests were announced on Wednesday by the Central Investigation Bureau (CIB), which said the heroin had an estimated street value exceeding 200 million baht and was intended for distribution in Bangkok, Pattaya and Phuket.
Police identified the Nigerian suspect as Obi, while the two Thai women arrested were named as Kanlayarat and Somporn.
According to investigators, the operation began after immigration police in Nong Khai received intelligence that members of a Nigerian drug syndicate had entered Bangkok and were working with Thai accomplices to distribute heroin smuggled across the Lao border.
Authorities alleged the network used short-term hotel accommodation in Bangkok as temporary storage and distribution hubs before dispatching the drugs to tourist destinations.
Police raided a hotel in Bangkok and arrested Obi with 49.5 kilogrammes of heroin concealed inside snack and pet food packaging, officers said.
Investigators later expanded the operation and arrested Somporn at Bangkok Southern Bus Terminal, where she was allegedly carrying another 16 kilogrammes of heroin destined for Phuket.
Police said Obi allegedly told investigators he had received the heroin from Kanlayarat before supplying wholesale quantities to dealers, including other Nigerian nationals and foreign suspects operating in tourist areas.
Somporn reportedly admitted she had collected the drugs from Kanlayarat and was transporting them to Phuket when she was intercepted by police.
Pol Col Jetniphat Siriwat said investigators believed the operation formed part of a wider Nigerian criminal network that allegedly used romance scams to recruit Thai women into transporting narcotics.
He said women were manipulated through online relationships and offered payments of around 30,000 baht to deliver drugs without fully understanding the scale of the trafficking operation.
Police said the alleged ringleader, believed to be a Nigerian national operating overseas, remains at large.
Authorities added that the three suspects arrested did not know each other personally and had allegedly been directed separately by the organisation.
The case comes as Thai authorities intensify efforts to combat transnational crime and tighten immigration screening measures involving foreign criminal syndicates operating in the country.
Investigators said the probe remains ongoing as police work to identify additional members of the network and trace overseas organisers connected to the smuggling operation.
