Eight Nigerians, One Thai Arrested in Bangkok Drug Raid as Police Crack Down on “Black-Shadow Nana” Syndicate

Bangkok Metropolitan Police have arrested eight Nigerian nationals and one Thai citizen in a coordinated pre-dawn operation aimed at dismantling a drug trafficking network in the city’s popular Sukhumvit tourist district.

The sting, codenamed “Take Down Black-Shadow Nana,” saw more than 40 anti-narcotics officers disguised as construction workers and night revelers infiltrate the Nana–Asoke area, following weeks of surveillance and complaints from tourists about drug peddling and theft.

The suspects, identified as Onyekama Frankline (29), Onuoha Desmond (34), Nnawuke Lucky (29), Alahieobi Favour (35), Ubammadu Chibuzor (32), Amajioyi Chinaemeze (23), Udemgba Innocent (28), and Nwachukwu Chisom (41), were apprehended alongside 36-year-old Thai national, Phanuwat Thanawet, from Udon Thani province.

Police recovered 3,000 baht (about $92) in cash and 3.8 grams of cocaine during the raid. According to investigators, the suspects concealed drugs in their mouths, discreetly spitting them out during transactions and swallowing them when police approached to destroy evidence.

Major General Theeradet Thumsuthee, Deputy Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police Bureau and head of the operation, revealed that the syndicate was part of a broader network of foreign traffickers smuggling drugs into Thailand using “internal concealment” techniques.

“They wrap drugs in plastic, swallow them before boarding flights, and excrete them upon arrival. Cocaine is their main commodity,” Thumsuthee said.

Authorities said some suspects were given milk to help recover swallowed evidence while under medical supervision.

The operation was executed at around 2 a.m. on October 26, after officers posing as tourists confirmed the gang’s nighttime activities in the Sukhumvit Soi 11 area of Watthana District.

Lieutenant General Siam Boonsom, Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police Bureau, has ordered intensified surveillance of foreign-dominated entertainment zones, warning that transnational drug crimes threaten Thailand’s tourism reputation.

Investigations are ongoing to determine whether the arrested Nigerians are connected to a larger West African drug trafficking network operating across Southeast Asia.