A Nigerian man accused of romance scam has been arrested after trying to evade arrest by jumping out of a third-story window in Pattaya, Thailand.
The man, identified as Robinson Ibuka Ade, and his partner, a 23-year-old Thai female national, Thidarat Biraban, were arrested for defrauding victims online on July 6.
The arrest took place after some victims in Nakhon Sri Thammarat filed a complaint that they had been defrauded by an Instagram account user, “davilalinda720”, who allegedly claimed to be an American soldier who fought in Syria. The Instagram user would then trick the victim to transfer huge amount of money to his bank account.
At least 40 victims who filed similar reports at Don Mueng Police Station claimed that they were scammed by the same Instagram account and lost 112,000 baht in total.
Following investigation, the police discovered that the account owner was living in a condo in Pattaya. An arrest warrant was issued and they stormed his residence.
The Nigerian and his partner were discovered inside the room. However, he attempted to escape by jumping out of the window but was caught by policemen who were stationed outside the condo.
Upon their arrest, cash of 148,000 Thai baht, 2,000 US dollars, and two ATM cards were discovered and confiscated by Thai police.
According to the police, Robinson was given medical treatment for the injuries he sustained when he jumped out of the window.
