KOH PHANGAN — Tourist Police on Koh Phangan arrested a Nigerian man who was part of a cocaine trafficking network. The man had overstayed his visa by 3,214 days. He claimed to have magical powers that allowed him to avoid arrest, but this time he was caught off guard.
This arrest occurred during a period when Police Lieutenant General Saksira Phuek-am, Commander of the Tourist Police, ordered officers to crack down on crime, migrant workers, and offenses in 10 prohibited categories from July 19-23.
On July 20, Koh Phangan Tourist Police and related agencies found Mr. Kenneth, age 47, Nigerian national, standing on a walkway. When they approached to check his documents, he fled to his room.
Police followed him to a hotel in Moo 8, Koh Phangan Subdistrict, Koh Phangan District, Surat Thani Province. Upon checking his passport or travel documents, they found he had overstayed his visa by 3,214 days.
A body search revealed drugs in his left jeans pocket: one round ball of white powder cocaine wrapped in black plastic weighing 21.4 grams, and one cylindrical package of white powder cocaine wrapped in black plastic weighing 10.1 grams. Kenneth confessed they were his, intended for distribution to foreign friends.
Officials charged Kenneth with overstaying his visa and illegal possession of Category 2 narcotic (cocaine). He was then handed over to Koh Phangan Police Station for further legal proceedings.
Investigation revealed Kenneth entered Thailand on March 17, 2015, at 17:09 through Padang Besar Immigration, Songkhla Province. He was permitted to stay until October 1, 2015, with no record of visa extension.
He is a member of a Nigerian cocaine trafficking network illegally operating in Thailand. Each member has specific roles: one for money transfers, one for controlling cocaine stock, and others responsible for delivering drugs to designated spots after payment confirmation.
Police Lieutenant Colonel Winit Boonchit of Tourist Police Division 3 stated that Kenneth stayed in a luxury hotel on Koh Phangan. His role was to place cocaine at designated spots and send locations to customers. Kenneth told investigators he used magic to conceal himself before each drug delivery to avoid detection, but this time he was caught off guard.
The investigation also revealed that the group’s “concealment” involved a step-by-step process. If any member was arrested or behaved suspiciously, the group would know. All phone and WhatsApp Business conversations, images, and videos were set to automatically delete within one minute to avoid detection.
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