Police Dismantle Nigerian Heroin Supply Network Operating Through Phuket

Thailand’s Central Investigation Bureau (CIB) has dismantled a major heroin trafficking network that was allegedly supplying narcotics to Bangkok, Pattaya, and Phuket.

One of the suspects was arrested moments before boarding transport to Phuket while allegedly carrying 16 kilograms of heroin intended for distribution on the island.

According to information released by CIB officials during a press conference on May 19, police arrested a Nigerian national identified as Chiadikaobi along with two Thai women, named Kanyarak and Somporn.

All three suspects were charged with illegal possession of Category 1 narcotics with intent to distribute. In total, authorities seized 65.5 kilograms of heroin during the operation.

The investigation reportedly began after Thailand’s Immigration Bureau in Nong Khai provided intelligence regarding a group of Nigerian drug traffickers based in Bangkok who were allegedly working together with Thai women.

The case was then transferred to a specialized CIB division focused on combating human trafficking and transnational criminal networks.

Investigators later discovered that one of the female suspects had illegally crossed Thailand’s border into a neighboring country before re-entering the Kingdom and checking into a hotel in Bangkok.

Police subsequently raided the location and arrested Chiadikaobi. Officers seized 49.5 kilograms of heroin concealed inside food packaging.

Authorities did not specify from which neighboring country the drugs had been smuggled, although Nong Khai province borders only Laos along the Mekong River.

As the investigation expanded, officers tracked down a second female suspect, Somporn, at Bangkok’s Southern Bus Terminal. Police said she was preparing to travel to Phuket to deliver narcotics to buyers on the island.

During that arrest, authorities confiscated an additional 16 kilograms of heroin.

While police did not disclose details about the alleged distribution network in Phuket, the quantity of drugs seized suggests investigators believe there was an established market capable of handling large-scale heroin sales over an extended period.

Following the operation, the Central Investigation Bureau also issued a public warning to Thai women about romance scams involving foreign nationals.

According to CIB, criminal groups may manipulate women into transporting packages domestically or across borders, unknowingly turning them into participants in international drug trafficking operations.