BANGKOK — Thai immigration police have arrested a 21-year-old Nigerian man in Bangkok following a drug sting operation that ended in a two-hour chase through a vacant lot, and discovered that he had overstayed his permission to stay by 206 days.

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The suspect, identified as Mr. Louis Junior, was detained after allegedly attempting to sell cocaine to an undercover informant in Ramkhamhaeng Soi 44. The operation, conducted on May 1, 2026, was launched after investigators received a tip-off about a foreign man allegedly dealing drugs in the area.

An undercover source arranged to buy 40 grams of cocaine at 2,500 baht per gram, totalling 100,000 baht, with a meeting scheduled for 6:00 p.m. But when the suspect arrived to complete the transaction, he became aware of the police presence and fled, jumping over a metal fence into a nearby vacant area. No drugs were recovered at the meeting point, leading officers to believe he discarded them while attempting to escape.

Police from Investigation Division 1 pursued the suspect for more than two hours, scouring the vacant lot and surrounding streets. He was eventually found at approximately 12:30 a.m. on May 2 hiding in a water ditch, soaked and out of breath. His attempt to disappear into the darkness had failed.

A Nigerian drug dealer arrested in Thai land ..the officers confessed that all Nigerians are drug dealers ,one of the biggest drug dealers in Bangkok is from Nigeria pic.twitter.com/scj8CzEI6G

— H A B I B I (@Old_Geee) April 30, 2026

Further checks revealed that Mr. Louis Junior had entered Thailand via Suvarnabhumi Airport on April 12, 2025. He had been granted an extension of stay for educational purposes at a private university, valid until October 8, 2025. Officials confirmed he had remained in the country illegally for 206 days beyond that date — nearly seven months without permission, living and allegedly dealing drugs in the heart of Bangkok.

The Immigration Bureau stated that the arrest aligns with directives from senior officials, including Police Lieutenant General Phanumart Boonyalak, to intensify monitoring of foreign nationals with suspected links to criminal activity. Authorities noted that enforcement efforts are ongoing against individuals with arrest warrants or involvement in narcotics, particularly those who use student visas as a cover for illegal activities.

The suspect has been handed over to investigators to face charges of overstaying his visa. Police said further inquiries will be conducted to identify any wider network involved in drug distribution, including who supplied the cocaine and whether other foreign nationals are operating similar schemes in Bangkok.

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Authorities plan to expand the investigation to track down possible accomplices and dismantle any associated trafficking operations, reaffirming their commitment to strict enforcement of immigration and drug laws. For Mr. Louis Junior, the chase is over. A water ditch in Bangkok is not where he expected to spend the night, but that is where two hours of running landed him. Now he sits in a detention cell, facing deportation and potentially drug charges, his overstay of 206 days serving as the final stamp on a file that began with a tip-off and ended with a man who ran out of places to hide.

-Thailand News (TN)