2 Ugandan women arrested in Thailand after earning Shs52m monthly from prostitution

Two Ugandan women have been arrested in Thailand after police said they earned about 500,000 Thai baht (approximately Shs52 million) per month from prostitution on Koh Phangan island.

Thai Tourist Police arrested the pair on March 1, 2026, in Surat Thani province after an Israeli tourist complained that his property had gone missing after he used a service offered by one of the women.

Police identified the suspects as Janet Nakalema, 32, and Mariam Namatovu, 29, both Ugandan nationals.

According to investigators, the arrest followed a complaint from the Israeli tourist who claimed his belongings disappeared after he met a Ugandan woman he had contacted for sexual services.

Tourist Police then launched an undercover operation. An officer posing as a client contacted the suspects through WhatsApp and arranged a meeting at a rented house on Koh Phangan.

The undercover officer reportedly agreed to pay 5,000 baht (about Shs520,000) for what police described as a “double service”.

Police moved in after receiving a pre-arranged signal and found the two women inside the property with another foreign tourist who had reportedly arrived earlier for the same service.

Authorities collected evidence from the room before taking the suspects to a Tourist Police service point for questioning.

During interrogation, the two women admitted that they had travelled to the island as tourists but had used it as a base to secretly offer sex services for more than two months.

Police said the suspects told investigators they served about three to four foreign clients daily, which amounted to roughly 180 customers over two months.

They also admitted earning up to 500,000 baht each month, equivalent to about Shs52 million, most of which they said they sent to their families in Uganda.

Tourist Police said the suspects now face charges related to organising prostitution and advertising sexual services for financial gain.

In a related operation, immigration authorities in Phuket also arrested five other Ugandan women accused of offering sex services in Patong’s entertainment district after public complaints about their activities in the Soi Bangla area.

The two suspects remain in custody at Koh Phangan police station as legal proceedings continue.