The suspects – seven from Nigeria, two from Cameroon, one from India and one from Sierra Leone – were apprehended on yesterday night (Sept 22) on different charges.
Officers from the Tourist Police Bureau, the Patrol and Special Operation Division, the Crime Suppression Division and the Immigration Police Bureau were involved in the raids at six locations: two in Lat Phrao, two in Ramkhamhaeng, one in Bang Khae district of Bangkok, and one in Samut Prakan.
Among the items seized were 46 grams of cocaine and 28g of marijuana, said Maj Gen Surachet Hakphan, acting deputy chief of the Tourist Police Bureau.
Three Nigerian nationals were charged with illegal entry; three Nigerians and two Cameroonians were charged with overstaying their visas; and three others (one Nigerian, one Indian and one Sierra Leone national) with possession of illicit drugs.
Maj Gen Surachet indicated that further legal action could be possible.
“Some suspects have not worked, but have millions of baht circulating in their bank accounts. Some have set up more than 100 email accounts to swindle Thais,” he said.
Police have been stepping up their crackdowns on transnational crime networks such as those involved in forging banknotes and credit cards, romance scams and illicit drugs.
Transnational crime has become more complicated, with more sophisticated methods developed to prey on victims and avoid arrest, said Maj Gen Surachet.
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