A notorious Nigerian romance scammer who has defrauded many people in Thailand has finally been arrested.
After defrauding many men in different parts of Thailand and other Asian countries of millions of Dollars, a notorious Nigerian romance scammer known popularly as Starboy, has been arrested by the police in Bangkok, the country's capital.
Bangkok Post reports that the love scammer identified as Antonio Joscarlos through his passport and who is very popular in the black community, was arrested on Thursday, December 7, 2017, along with his 20-year-old Thai girlfriend called Sukanya Sakaew and five members of his gang who are also from Nigeria.
It was reported that Starboy had used a fake Facebook profile to con lonely middle-aged Thai men looking for love by pretending to be a beautiful American female soldier.
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The suspect and his girlfriend were caught at their JP Smart Condominium in Pak Kret, Chaengwattana area, as a part of the government’s crackdown on foreign criminals.
At the time the gang was busted, they were chatting to 38 men at the same time. Thai Police say the victims of the romance scam were persuaded to send money to their accounts.
The police also found six mobile phones and a few bank books at the apartment which had a circulating fund of THB3 million which is about $92,000.
Taken into evidence were a computer notebook, 10 phones, bank books, cash and other valuables found in the apartment during the raid.
The other gang members were also said to be running investment scams, tricking Thai couples into parting with their money in bogus schemes, relying on the greed of their victims.
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Thailand's acting tourism Police Chief Surachet Hakpan who confirmed the arrest, said that romance scams and bogus investment schemes were causing a lot of trouble for the country and that the crackdown is targeting mostly those in the African community using tourism as a cover for illegal activities.