Four Nigerian men were arrested after allegedly conning Thai women with romance scams.<br /><br />Police received a report from a resident claiming that the group created fake online identities to approach the women in Ranong, southern Thailand in April.<br /><br />The alleged con artists would pretend to be American men who wanted to emigrate with their wealth to live in Thailand.<br /><br />Then allegedly would tell the gullible women that they needed money to do their visa paperwork but would arrive with riches to take care of them.<br /><br />One woman reportedly lost life savings of more than two million THB (50,336GBP) to the gang.<br /><br />The police investigated the case and found the suspects living in the neighbouring province Prachuab Khiri Khan. They arrested them on June 1.<br /><br />Four Nigerians, two Thai and one Burmese national were arrested in the operation.<br /><br />The police also confiscated their equipment including three bankbooks, four ATM cards, six mobile phones, two laptops, 10 cards, seven pills of amphetamine and 0.6 ounces of brick marijuana.<br /><br />The alleged offenders were charged with drug possession at the local police station before they were charged with fraud in Ranong.<br /><br />Officers said three victims had already come forward. They will also check the computer records of the group to identify other alleged victims.<br /><br />Police Lieutenant General Jirawat Thippayachan said: "We have been investigating the case since the first victim came to us.<br /><br />"The third victim has lost more than two million THB (50,336GBP) to the gang, so we had to put a stop in this and prevent other women from falling for them."<br /><br />The men were charged in Ranong province with the same drugs offence as they were at the provincial police station where they reside but with additional charges for their fraud.<br />The provincial police commander said: "Their additional charges here are for the offence of cheating and fraud committed by the offender pretending to be another person to obtain money.''
