The Mumbai Police Special Squad in India on Thursday, December 3, busted a drug peddling syndicate and arrested three Nigerian nationals in the Malad and Royal Palm areas of the town.
The Nigerians were found with 220 grammes of cocaine worth over Rs 22 lakhs ($29,833.32).
They were arrested by the Special Squad of Deputy Commissioner of Police Zone XI along with the Bangur Nagar police.
According to an official, the police, while acting on a tip-off, laid a trap at Link Road in Malad and first apprehended 38-year-old Uche James after he arrived to deliver the contraband on Wednesday, December 2.
Upon search, 10.14-gramme cocaine was recovered from him. He was produced in court and remanded in police custody till December 7.
Later, the police team on Thursday, December 3, brought Uche to Royal Palms in Aarey Colony Goregaon and based on information he had provided, a trap was laid to arrest his accomplices.
Two other Nigerians identified as Emeka Cyprian and Chukwu Joseph were nabbed at the spot. Two hundred ten grammes of cocaine were seized from both of them.
The police recovered a total of over 200 grammes of cocaine were recovered from the trio, who were booked under relevant sections of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, the official added.
Officials from the special squad said the arrest could lead them to other peddlers and help bust the cocaine peddling ring being run in suburban Mumbai.
Nigerians have been lately notorious for drug smuggling to the Asian country.
On November 6, the police still arrested four Nigerians for alleged possession of the banned substance, 747-grammes cocaine, which is reportedly worth Rs1.49 crore.
A crore in India means ten million. This implies that the substance is worth Rs10.49 million. Using the Google exchange calculator, the amount is N54,192,745.32 (over N54 million) in the Nigerian equivalent.
The accused were reportedly arrested in Nala Sopara, a town in India, while the banned substance had been seized from them. According to an Indian newspaper, a case has been registered against them in line with relevant sections of India’s Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act at Tulinj police station.
The menace is not only in India.
In another related incident earlier in the year, two Nigerian students were arrested for peddling drugs in Cyprus. According to reports, the duo, Onuwa Kachıkwu and Uduak Emmanuel, were arrested on May 6, 2020, and charged with receiving, selling and storing illicit drugs.
It is reported that a total of 17 grammes of wrapped drugs was retrieved from the students, one of whom was a lady (Uduak) who was said to have sold the drugs to the Department of Narcotics and Anti-Smuggling in Cyprus.
Murat Özkırdar, the police officer who busted them, had also discovered $3750 (N1.4milliom), €400 (N171, 140), and £50 (N24,192), and 1100 TL in a shoebox in their room. The money is believed to be proceeds of illicit drugs sales.
