Nigerian man nabbed in Thailand for hiring women as drug mules

A 34-year-old Nigerian man who hired Thai women as mules to smuggle drugs overseas has been arrested.

Lt Gen Surachate said that the Nigerian national who identified himself as 'Paul Smith Brown' was arrested after he contacted an aide who turned out to be a police informant to help him smuggle drugs overseas.

Mr Brown met the informant in front of a shopping mall in Samut Prakan's Phra Pradaeng district on Saturday and went straight to a hotel in Suk Sawat Soi 64.

As soon as they arrived, officers raided the hotel room and found 324 grammes of crystal meth wrapped and stuffed inside socks, said Lt Gen Surachate.

Officers then took the suspect to his condominium in Bangkok's Rat Burana district for a further search, where they found a digital weighing scale that was used to weigh drugs, according to the IB chief.

Mr Brown was also unable to present a passport or any identification documents, Pol Lt Gen Surachate said.

He faces charges of unlawfully possessing Type-1 drugs and illegally entering the country, he added.