The Thailand police have arrested an alleged Nigerian cocaine trafficking kingpin, Ikenna Patrick Azubuike, in a late night raid in Bangkok.

Mr Azubuike was arrested by the Thai police on Saturday according to Thailand’s Bangkok Post.

“Police arrested the alleged head of a Nigerian drug network in a dramatic late-night operation on Tuesday night,” the report stated.

It added, “The suspect, identified as Ikenna Patrick Azubuike, 36, a Nigerian national, was arrested outside a condominium on Rama III Road in Bangkok’s Yannawa district.”

The police commenced investigations into Mr Azubuike’s drug trafficking racket in May, when they raided a luxury condominium in Nonthaburi, a hideout used for romance scam and other crimes.

Reports noted that it was discovered that the drug and romance scam network was run by African immigrants operated under the name Dodorima, meaning “hello.”

Investigations further identified Mr Azubuike “as the apparent leader of the Dodorima network in Thailand. They said the Nigerian man had lived in Thailand for more than seven years, travelling frequently between Thailand and Africa.”

According to police, Mr Azubuike initially worked as a street-level cocaine dealer in tourist areas before moving up through the ranks. 

The police found about 18 grammes of cocaine in Mr Azubuike’s possession and a search of his condominium unit led to the seizure of cash and other assets valued at about 700,000 baht.

Mr Azubuike’s arrest comes barely a month after the Peoples Gazette reported that the Thai police nabbed six Nigerians for  romance scam in the Southeast Asian country.