Nigerian Man Arrested in Thailand for Cocaine Possession and Visa Overstay

[webfact]

Arrest on Koh Pha Ngan. Picture courtesy: Khaosod

 

Thai police have arrested a 47-year-old Nigerian man on charges of drug possession and overstaying his visa in a dramatic crackdown on Koh Pha Ngan island. The individual, identified as Kenneth, was found with a significant quantity of cocaine and had overstayed his visa by several years.

 

The operation was spearheaded by Tourist Police Chief Saksira Puek-am as part of a broader initiative aimed at curbing illegal activities, ranging from drug trafficking to unauthorised foreign workers. The campaign, which ran from July 19 to July 23, saw coordinated efforts from various local law enforcement agencies.

 

When police raided Kenneth's room in a luxury hotel, they discovered two packages of cocaine hidden in his jeans pocket, one weighing 21.4 grammes and the other 10.1 grammes.

 

His visa records showed that he entered Thailand on March 17, 2015, through the Padang Besar checkpoint in Songkhla Province, with permission to stay until October 1, 2015. He had not applied for any extensions, effectively overstaying his visa by over 3,214 days.

 

During the arrest, Kenneth made an odd claim that he used magical practices to evade detection during his drug transactions. Authorities revealed that he was a member of a well-organised Nigerian drug trafficking network.

 

Each network member had specific roles, ranging from financial transactions to drug distribution. For communication, the group relied solely on WhatsApp Business, which auto-deletes messages within a minute, making it difficult for authorities to trace them.

 

The police discovered that Kenneth’s role was to place cocaine at various drop points on the island and send the location to buyers. He had been residing in the high-end hotel while carrying out his illicit activities.

 

Following his arrest, Kenneth was charged with both visa overstaying and illegal possession of class 2 narcotics. He has been transferred to the Koh Pha Ngan Police Station for further legal proceedings.

 

This incident sheds light on the continuing challenges that Thai authorities face in combating drug trafficking and immigration violations.

 

-- 2024-07-22

 

- Cigna offers a range of plans that meet the minimum requirement of medical treatment up to THB 3m. For more information on all expat health insurance plans click here.

 

Get our Daily Newsletter - Click HERE to subscribe

[Stargeezr]

Ban this guy for life and deeport him after his jail sentence.

  A good rice diet for a while. IMHO

[zyphodb]

An once of coke, he's not gonna be going anywhere for a long time...

 

[RichardColeman]

Would the only honest Nigerian in Thailand please stand up ? 

[TheFishman1]

I’d like to know how these guys like stay in luxury hotels usually they ask for your passport your visa has this guy move around or going into a bank or do anything without having to short passport or visa TIT

[newbee2022]

22 hours ago, webfact said:

Arrest on Koh Pha Ngan. Picture courtesy: Khaosod

 

Thai police have arrested a 47-year-old Nigerian man on charges of drug possession and overstaying his visa in a dramatic crackdown on Koh Pha Ngan island. The individual, identified as Kenneth, was found with a significant quantity of cocaine and had overstayed his visa by several years.

 

The operation was spearheaded by Tourist Police Chief Saksira Puek-am as part of a broader initiative aimed at curbing illegal activities, ranging from drug trafficking to unauthorised foreign workers. The campaign, which ran from July 19 to July 23, saw coordinated efforts from various local law enforcement agencies.

 

When police raided Kenneth's room in a luxury hotel, they discovered two packages of cocaine hidden in his jeans pocket, one weighing 21.4 grammes and the other 10.1 grammes.

 

 

His visa records showed that he entered Thailand on March 17, 2015, through the Padang Besar checkpoint in Songkhla Province, with permission to stay until October 1, 2015. He had not applied for any extensions, effectively overstaying his visa by over 3,214 days.

 

During the arrest, Kenneth made an odd claim that he used magical practices to evade detection during his drug transactions. Authorities revealed that he was a member of a well-organised Nigerian drug trafficking network.

 

Each network member had specific roles, ranging from financial transactions to drug distribution. For communication, the group relied solely on WhatsApp Business, which auto-deletes messages within a minute, making it difficult for authorities to trace them.

 

The police discovered that Kenneth’s role was to place cocaine at various drop points on the island and send the location to buyers. He had been residing in the high-end hotel while carrying out his illicit activities.

 

Following his arrest, Kenneth was charged with both visa overstaying and illegal possession of class 2 narcotics. He has been transferred to the Koh Pha Ngan Police Station for further legal proceedings.

 

This incident sheds light on the continuing challenges that Thai authorities face in combating drug trafficking and immigration violations.

 

-- 2024-07-22

 

- Cigna offers a range of plans that meet the minimum requirement of medical treatment up to THB 3m. For more information on all expat health insurance plans click here.

 

Get our Daily Newsletter - Click HERE to subscribe

He will have funny days, weeks, months, and years in Thai prison. Congrats. One less of this riffraff on the streets👍

[hotchilli]

22 hours ago, webfact said:

The operation was spearheaded by Tourist Police Chief Saksira Puek-am as part of a broader initiative aimed at curbing illegal activities, ranging from drug trafficking to unauthorised foreign workers.

Over-stayed his visa by several years... not exactly on the ball?

[john donson]

the men in brown never patrol nana ? if they did, this would be daily news

 

they must be busy with other important stuff

[Andrew65]

Many years ago an official from the Nigerian Embassy stated that there were around 1,000 Nigerians in prison in Thailand, mostly on drugs charges.