According to police, Chatchawal Sriruang, 37, and Sakda Jitdamri, 38, along with another male accomplice still at large, raided the victim’s room on Saturday night, claiming to be police officers.

They allegedly accused her of a drugs offence before demanding Bt100,000 to let her go free.

The woman said she gave them Bt7,500 in cash and promised to pay the rest later. When they allegedly kept harassing her by phone, she filed a police complaint.

Officers from the Metropolitan Police Bureau 5 Investigation Division then staged a sting operation in which the woman lured the suspects with a promise to pay them Bt10,000. The pair were arrested in front of an apartment building in Soi Sukhumvit 22 late on Tuesday night.

A search at the suspects’ apartment in Soi Sukhumvit 16 found 45 Valium pills and 10 alprazolam pills, which the pair claimed to belong to a friend, police said. Chatchawal tested positive for drugs.

The arrested men reportedly have served as police informants in the South.