Six Nigerian men detained in Thailand for romance scam

By Emmanuel Okogba

Thai police have detained six Nigerian nationals who are alleged to have run an AI‑driven romance scam from a luxury condominium in Nonthaburi. The arrests followed a wider investigation that had begun with a cocaine trafficking case.

The men were taken into custody during coordinated raids on May 22 at three condominium units situated along the Chao Phraya River near Phra Nangklao Bridge. Authorities said the suspects lived in groups of five or six in each apartment and used fabricated identities, AI‑generated faces and staged video calls to trick victims, most of whom were older Thai women.

The investigation was launched in April after police arrested a Nigerian man named Patrick and three others on charges of cocaine trafficking. During that operation, officers seized assets worth roughly 2.5 million baht.

According to a trending video on X, posted by a Cambodian‑based crime researcher with the handle @jacobincambodia, investigators later traced financial transactions linked to the drug case to several foreign nationals residing in the upscale condominium on student visas. Police noted that none of the suspects were enrolled in school or employed.

With search warrants in hand, officers entered the apartments after the occupants reportedly refused to open their doors. One suspect allegedly tried to escape by climbing over a balcony, while another was found hiding on a bathroom floor and sending warning messages to the other apartments.

Police recovered 18 mobile phones, three laptops and three bank passbooks during the operation. Some of the phones were still connected to active conversations with scam victims.

Investigators claim the group posed online as pilots, United States military officers, doctors and engineers to establish romantic relationships with women before claiming that expensive items were being held at customs and required payment of release fees.

Police also uncovered AI‑generated images of Western‑looking individuals used for fake video calls, along with scripts designed to manipulate victims into sending money.

The six suspects face initial charges of illegal association and immigration overstay, with additional fraud and romance‑scam charges expected to be added.

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