African-led transnational drug ring busted

13 people arrested, heroin and cocaine worth B400 million seized over two months

Authorities have arrested 13 Thai and foreign suspects who were members of a transnational drug network led by a fugitive African known as “Big Jot” and seized 130 kilogrammes of heroin and cocaine worth over 400 million baht.

Investigations carried out over the past several months uncovered how the gang used romance scams to recruit Thai women to smuggle drugs across borders, police said on Friday.

Six separate raids between May 18 and July 1, involving cooperation among a number of agencies, have put a major dent in the network, said Pol Maj Gen Pattanasak Bubphasuwan, commander of the Crime Suppression Division (CSD).

Officers arrested 13 suspects — seven Thais, five Nigerians and one Polish national. They also seized 110 kilogrammes of heroin and 22kg of cocaine, he said at a briefing on Friday.

The drugs intercepted in Thailand have an estimated value of more than 400 million baht, he said.

All of the suspects have been charged with possessing Category 1 narcotics with intent to sell. (Story continues below)

One of the methods used by the smugglers involved attaching flattened packs of heroin to cardboard inserts used in shirt packaging. These usually could pass through airport scanners unless inspections were conducted very thoroughly. (Photo supplied/Wassayos Ngamkham)

Investigators identified “Big Jot”, an African man currently believed to be abroad, as the mastermind behind the network. His nationality was not given.

According to police, the syndicate employed a sophisticated recruitment strategy, targeting Thai women through TikTok.

Members of the network, most of them based in Nigeria, approached victims online and developed romantic relationships. Some suspects later travelled to Thailand, posed as boyfriends or partners, and in some cases established long-term relationships or even had children with the women to gain their trust, investigators said.

The women were eventually manipulated or coerced into becoming drug couriers, with accomplices in neighbouring countries helping to bring them across the Mekong River to collect heroin and cocaine.

After returning to Thailand, the women were instructed to drive vehicles provided by the syndicate to transport the drugs to members of the network in Bangkok. The narcotics were packaged for distribution to tourist destinations in Thailand and for export to third countries. Some suspects were assigned to carry the drugs on international flights.

Pol Maj Gen Pattanasak said the traffickers have adopted increasingly sophisticated concealment techniques. Instead of the traditional white packages bearing a twin-lion logo, heroin is now being hidden in snack packets, coffee bags, pet food packaging, fabric storage boxes and even cardboard inserts used to support new shirts.

These methods could allow narcotics to pass through airport scanners unless inspections were conducted thoroughly, he said.

While the 110.4kg of heroin seized in Thailand was worth hundreds of millions of baht domestically, its value could rise dramatically if successfully smuggled to destinations such as Australia, where heroin can fetch up to 10 million baht per kilogramme — about three times the price in Thailand.

Authorities said the enormous profit potential explains why the foreign-led syndicate invested heavily in elaborate smuggling schemes and exploited Thai women to facilitate the cross-border drug trade.

Bags of heroin and cocaine seized during police raids from May 18 to July 1 are displayed at a briefing held at the police Central Investigation Bureau in Bangkok on Friday. (Photo supplied/Wassayos Ngamkham)