Suspected Member of 'Nigerian Scam' Arrested With 1.8 Million Baht
By Khaosod English


Kessanee Mahayothee, 34, was arrested near the Thai - Malaysian border in Songkhla province as she was attempting to leave the country with more than 1.8 million baht in cash, police say. 18 Oct 2014.

BANGKOK — Police have arrested a Thai woman accused of running a "Nigerian scam" ring in Thailand that has allegedly defrauded millions of baht from unsuspecting victims.

Kessanee Mahayothee, 34, was arrested near the Thai - Malaysian border in Songkhla province as she was attempting to leave the country with more than 1.8 million baht in cash, police say.

According to Pol.Col. Amornsak Kasemsiri, a detective officer in charge of the investigation, police also discovered that Kessanee has registered at least 47 bank accounts in her name, possibly to funnel illegal money.

Pol.Col. Amornsak told reporters yesterday that Kessanee confessed to working with of group of Malaysia-based Nigerian men who posed as Westerners and approached single Thai women on dating websites with the intention of scamming them for cash.

Yesterday's arrest followed a complaint by a Thai woman that a British man named James Thompson flirted with her and convinced her into an online relationship, Pol.Col. Amornsak said. The man reportedly offered to buy an apartment in Bangkok for the woman and promised to send 5 million baht to her as a payment.

Full story: http://www.khaosodenglish.com/detail.php?newsid=1413725832&typecate=06&section=


-- Khaosod English 2014-10-20

lord have mercy,

the conveniently left out the name of the Thai dating site

"Yesterday's arrest followed a complaint by a Thai woman that a British man named James Thompson"

Jim Thompson? Seriously, Jim Thompson.

"Suspected Member of 'Nigerian Scam' Arrested With 1.8 Million Baht"

Shouldn't that have the word "Thai" after suspected?

You know, just to ensure clarity, make it clear that the only arrested member of this scam is a Thai woman claiming Nigerians are responsible?

karma's a bitch.farang stealing money from thai ladys i bet that wasnt easy..trying to get my change back from my lady takes a good few hour negotiation.

Nigerians cant come here for legal work?

Dont see many Nigerian restaurants or anything related to Nigerian tourist operators.

I'm sorry but I've never seen a legit one in Thailand.

Sent from my LG-D858

Nigerians cant come here for legal work?

Dont see many Nigerian restaurants or anything related to Nigerian tourist operators.

I'm sorry but I've never seen a legit one in Thailand.

Sent from my LG-D858

Of course they can come here for legitimate work, the same as any foreigner can.

They get a job here with a school/company/the Nigerian embassy.

Yes I know there are criminal elements from Nigeria here but unlike you I don't assume that because they are Nigerian they are a criminal.

You might want to note that no Nigerians have been named or caught or proved to be involved in this crime.

Just a Thai women claiming they are.

when will we see members of the 'Bargirl Scam' arrested?

TAT will soon announce,

"Thai perfect the Nigerian scam"

You no longer have to fear the Nigerians,

it turns out, they were Thai's the entire time,

just another in the long list of things that a "Thai can do better"

"The victim transferred the money to Kessanee's bank account. But after that, James stopped communicating with the victim"

Isn't that the old scam of: "Pay me now and I'll be back with the stuff in 15 minutes."? I thought that one went out in the early 70s . I suppose there's a whole new generation of suckers, and it's worldwide.

Edited October 19, 201411 yr by jaltsc

Nigerians cant come here for legal work?

Dont see many Nigerian restaurants or anything related to Nigerian tourist operators.

I'm sorry but I've never seen a legit one in Thailand.

Sent from my LG-D858

Probably because you have been searching at the wrong places or you have built this mentality and got blinded by the belief that we are all criminals. I am proudly Nigerian, been here for 32 months with no criminal record of any kind, actively involved in the school system. I guess in your country, there are no jails or criminals.... Kudos

If people are dumb enough to give away their money, then I have little sympathy for them. That goes for both sides, the fat old man handing his hard earned over to a tart who tells him he's a "handsome Man", or the greedy cow who thinks some rich doctor is going to pay her pack 10 fold and provide a life on easy street for her.

Don't like thieves but also have no sympathy for these types of victim either.

Nigerians cant come here for legal work?

Dont see many Nigerian restaurants or anything related to Nigerian tourist operators.

I'm sorry but I've never seen a legit one in Thailand.

Sent from my LG-D858

Of course they can come here for legitimate work, the same as any foreigner can.

They get a job here with a school/company/the Nigerian embassy.

Yes I know there are criminal elements from Nigeria here but unlike you I don't assume that because they are Nigerian they are a criminal.

You might want to note that no Nigerians have been named or caught or proved to be involved in this crime.

Just a Thai women claiming they are.

I'm not saying there are not Nigerians involved and we might find out the truth if the BIB bother to follow up properly but it's certainly in vogue currently to involve a foreigner in almost everything.

I'm all out of witty or clever thing to add, it was said before.....

Nigerians cant come here for legal work?

Dont see many Nigerian restaurants or anything related to Nigerian tourist operators.

I'm sorry but I've never seen a legit one in Thailand.

Sent from my LG-D858

Of course they can come here for legitimate work, the same as any foreigner can.

They get a job here with a school/company/the Nigerian embassy.

Yes I know there are criminal elements from Nigeria here but unlike you I don't assume that because they are Nigerian they are a criminal.

You might want to note that no Nigerians have been named or caught or proved to be involved in this crime.

Just a Thai women claiming they are.

I'm not saying there are not Nigerians involved and we might find out the truth if the BIB bother to follow up properly but it's certainly in vogue currently to involve a foreigner in almost everything.

they won't follow up properly because there's at least one or two of their own clan members involved.because how is the old saying in Thailand: where money is,there is a BiB.

"Yesterday's arrest followed a complaint by a Thai woman that a British man named James Thompson"

Jim Thompson? Seriously, Jim Thompson.

Has a silky sound to it, does it not ?

The headline and actual story don't do the lady any favours.

The headline says she was involved in the scam but the first sentence in the body of the report read she was RUNNING it.

Now it's natural to project a Thai as the mastermind but since there are foreigners supposedly involved isn't she actually a poor dupe being used by them.

It seems a now approved tactic to name a foreigner or a foreign group in any thing that go wrong here in Thailand. No prove needed and the dumb journalists write all down as true.

What does it say on the tee shirt on the man on the right?

I hope the cops grill her hard, get all the names/numbers/contact information out of her, and pass them on to the Royal Malaysia Police for further action at the source.

And call in the banks which allowed her to open 47 accounts - and see if there was any element of collusion in money laundering.

It seems a now approved tactic to name a foreigner or a foreign group in any thing that go wrong here in Thailand. No prove needed and the dumb journalists write all down as true.

The article seems accurate, the article does not make any determination about verity - just quoted using "accused of" and "confessed to".

The journo merely reported what was said by whom, which is correct.

Of course all Nigerians are scammers....when is the last time you got an email from another country saying you have inherited money from a dead distant relative?

Of course all Nigerians are scammers....when is the last time you got an email from another country saying you have inherited money from a dead distant relative?

I got one from Ghana last week. Or could it have been a Nigerian trying to fool me?

They are totally cool guys hanging out over there on Suk 9 7-11. They are very friendly and will offer to help you in any way they can. They like to make eye contact and talk to you like they've known you for years. Such a nice group doing the people of Thailand and tourists such good.

The reality is,

she was only caught because someone found the money as she tried to cross the border,

she must have been acting strangely, unless they just decided to search her for no reason

must not have been able to pass the bull crap test to a question, and boom, spread em

but let's not make it seem like this was the result of painful investigation,

more like painful interrogation

Edited October 20, 201411 yr by SteveFong

Of course all Nigerians are scammers....when is the last time you got an email from another country saying you have inherited money from a dead distant relative?

I got one from Ghana last week. Or could it have been a Nigerian trying to fool me?

Ill have to read my email more closely maybe one of my rich cousins from Ghana died and Ive got a payout coming!

lord have mercy,

the conveniently left out the name of the Thai dating site

It happens on all dating sites and social media sites . . . and is only called a "nigerian scam" because they were the ones that made it "popular", it could be any nationality(ies) involved . . . in this instance, I'm pretty sure it's simply Thai's stealing from Thai's.

Nigerians cant come here for legal work?

Dont see many Nigerian restaurants or anything related to Nigerian tourist operators.

I'm sorry but I've never seen a legit one in Thailand.

Sent from my LG-D858

Nothing to be sorry about,we all know it's true.

I think you could paint a lot of african's black no matter what the country. Low morals, criminal tendencies. Not the kind of tourists thailand wants.

Nigerians cant come here for legal work?

Dont see many Nigerian restaurants or anything related to Nigerian tourist operators.

I'm sorry but I've never seen a legit one in Thailand.

Sent from my LG-D858

There are of course legit Nigerians, just that there are also a prominent amount if non legit ones up to no good. Drugs and 419 scams seem to be their main things.

There are though gem traders and other legit West African businessmen a plenty in Thailand to. I have several friends one from Ghana and one from Cameroon who are lovely people, although even they complain about the dodgy Nigerians.