Undercover in hard hats — Bangkok police pose as workers to expose Bangkok’s Nana district drug scene

BANGKOK, THAILAND: In a scene that could have been lifted straight from a crime thriller, Bangkok police disguised as construction workers pulled off a dramatic pre-dawn sting operation in the heart of the city’s nightlife district early on Sunday morning.

Around 40 plainclothes officers—wearing hard hats, reflective vests, and carrying tools—quietly blended in with the early-morning bustle on Sukhumvit Soi 11 before springing into action just after midnight. Their target: a group of suspected Nigerian drug traffickers who had been operating in the popular Nana area.

The operation, weeks in the making, ended with the arrest of eight Nigerian men and one Thai national, all between 23 and 41 years old. Police launched the raid following numerous complaints from residents and tourists about increasing drug activity and pickpocketing in the area.

According to Pol Maj Gen Theeradet Thumsuthee, deputy commissioner of the Metropolitan Police Bureau, the suspects used a particularly risky method to conceal their drugs—hiding small packets of cocaine in their mouths. They would spit out the packets to sell them to buyers and swallow them again when police were nearby in an attempt to destroy the evidence.

Two packets of cocaine weighing about four grams were recovered at the scene. Officers said more drugs could still be retrieved after the suspects’ systems process what they had swallowed.

Investigators believe the narcotics were smuggled into Thailand by air, with couriers allegedly ingesting the drugs before boarding flights. Once in Bangkok, the packets were recovered and sold in nightlife districts that attract large numbers of foreign tourists.

Maj Gen Theeradet said the operation was part of a joint crackdown by the Metropolitan Police and the Narcotics Suppression Bureau, launched in direct response to growing frustration among locals and business owners who said street dealers were tarnishing the area’s reputation.

As the arrests unfolded, nearby tourists reportedly applauded the officers. Many expressed relief that the open drug dealing that had plagued the neighbourhood for months was finally being addressed.

According to Theeradet, the operation sent a clear message – that Bangkok police will not tolerate criminal networks that exploit the city’s hospitality and put visitors at risk.

Police say further investigations are underway to identify the larger trafficking network behind the suspects and trace the drugs back to their source.