Nigerian man accused of romance scam jumps out of third floor window to evade arrest in Thailand

A Nigerian national, Robinson Ibuka Ade accused of romance scam is currently in custody after trying to run from police by jumping out of a third-story window in Pattaya, Thailand.

The suspect and a Thai female national, Thidarat Biraban, 23, were arrested in July 6, after allegedly jointly committing an online romance scam in the country.

Ibuka Ade and Biraban were wanted by the Thai Criminal Court over the charge of joining to commit fraud and importing forged data into a computer system.

Upon their arrest, cash of 148,000 Thai baht, 2,000 US dollars, and two ATM cards were discovered and confiscated by Thai police.

The arrest took place after some victims in Nakhon Sri Thammarat filed a complaint, stating that they had lost 905,000 baht from an Instagram account user, “davilalinda720”, who allegedly claimed that he was an American soldier who fought in Syria.

The account owner would then trick the victim into transferring a large amount of money several times.

According to the initial investigation, at least 40 victims who filed similar reports at Don Mueng Police Station had claimed that they were scammed by the same Instagram account and lost 112,000 baht in total.

The police then requested an arrest warrant from the Bangkok Criminal Court. The investigation then revealed that the account owner was living in a condo in Pattaya.

The Nigerian suspect was discovered inside the room. He was eventually arrested as he attempted to escape and jumped/fell from the balcony of the third floor of the building. He was captured immediately by police on the ground outside of the condo.

Thidarat who Robinson appeared to be willing to leave behind based on leaping off the balcony, with a total amount of 51,000 baht in her possession, was also discovered in the condo.

The couple was taken into police custody at Don Mueng Police Station while the other victims were also being questioned for further information.

Ibuka Ade was given medical treatment for his fall, which he survived without serious injuries, according to police.