Four Nigerian men were arrested after allegedly conning Thai women with romance scams.

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.

The alleged con artists would pretend to be American men who wanted to emigrate with their wealth to live in Thailand.

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.

One woman reportedly lost life savings of more than two million THB (50,336GBP) to the gang.

The police investigated the case and found the suspects living in the neighbouring province Prachuab Khiri Khan. They arrested them on June 1.

Four Nigerians, two Thai and one Burmese national were arrested in the operation.

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.

The alleged offenders were charged with drug possession at the local police station before they were charged with fraud in Ranong.

Officers said three victims had already come forward. They will also check the computer records of the group to identify other alleged victims.

Police Lieutenant General Jirawat Thippayachan said: "We have been investigating the case since the first victim came to us.

"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."

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.
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.''