Two Nigerian men,
one Ugandan woman arrested with 5 Kg heroin and 2.6 Kg cocaine in India (Photo)
The Narcotics
Control Bureau in Delhi on Monday, May 27, arrested two Nigerian nationals and
one Ugandan woman in possession of 5 Kg of heroin and 2.6 Kg of cocaine.
According to Delhi
Deputy Director General, Narcotics Control Bureau, SK Jha:
"Two Nigerians
and one Ugandan national were arrested and drugs worth Rs 25 crore were
recovered from their possession on Monday."
The drugs were
smuggled to Delhi from Mumbai via the Rajdhani Express train.
NCB also disclosed
that one of the Nigerians arrested is wanted in Kolkata in connection with the
seizure of 3.7Kg cocaine.
Two Nigerian
nationals, one South African woman arrested in India’s biggest ever narcotics
seizure (Photos)
In India’s biggest ever narcotics seizure,
the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) has recovered 1,818kg of pseudoephedrine
from a house in Greater Noida and arrested two Nigerian nationals, and one
South African national.
Officers said that the house, which belongs
to an Indian Police Service (IPS) officer was being used as a
drug-manufacturing unit. The approximate value of the seized drugs are
estimated to be more than Rs1,000 crore.
Madhav Singh, zonal director, NCB, said the
seizure is India’s biggest-ever narcotics haul and the world’s largest
pseudoephedrine seizure in the past three years.
According to NCB officials, on Thursday
morning following a tip off, the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF)
intercepted a 31-year-old woman passenger, Nomsa Lutalo, from South Africa, at
Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International airport.
The woman was to board a flight to
Johannesburg via Dubai.
“On checking her bags, they found 24.7kg
pseudoephedrine from her bags. On questioning, the woman said she had been
handed the consignment in Greater Noida by two people from Nigeria. She said
she was asked to carry the same to Johannesburg and was promised good money in
exchange,” Singh said.
Based on Lutalo’s interrogation, an NCB team
conducted a raid at the identified premise in Sector P4 of Greater Noida the
same day.
“A man, Henry Ideofor (35) and a woman,
Chimando Okora (30) were living in the house. Both are from Nigeria. During
searches, we found several canisters and boxes in the house, containing 1,818kg
of pseudoephedrine. We also recovered 1.9kg cocaine,” Singh said.
He said that pseudoephedrine is a precursor
used for manufacturing narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances. The export
of pseudoephedrine requires a no-objection certificate from the narcotics
commissioner.
The UN Convention Against the Illicit Traffic
in Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances, 1988, identifies 23 precursors
that need to be controlled. Pseudoephedrine is one of them, the officer said.
During questioning, the Nigerian nationals
told officials that they bought the chemical from various illicit sources and
were storing it to manufacture drugs.
“They also used to manufacture fake heroin
and transport it out of the country, illegally. They claim to have also
distributed the drugs in Delhi-NCR. The precursor and manufactured drugs were
mostly sent to countries in Africa, the two said,” Singh said.
Ideofor and Okora told officials they had
taken the house on rent and had been living there since 2015. Investigations
revealed that the house belongs to Devendra PN Pandey, an IPS officer posted
with the UP Police’s Economic Offences Wing in Lucknow.
When contacted, Pandey said he had rented out
the house through a property dealer and was unaware of the activities going on
there.
“I had no knowledge of the drug business
being run from my house. I have not even received any rent for the past year
and had made complaint to the circle officer against the two Nigerian nationals.
The rent agreement also clearly mentions that the residents will be responsible
for any illegal activity,” he said.
Pandey said he had bought the property for
Rs7.2 lakh in 2000.
A 19yr-Old Female Illicit Drug Peddler Busted By NDLEA As They Discover Drugs In Her Private Parts
Operatives of the
National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, NDLEA in Katsina State have arrested a
19-year-old girl, Zakiya Abdukarim, with illicit drugs stocked in her brassiere
and other parts of her body.
The Katsina State
Commander, NDLEA, Mrs. Maryam Sani, who confirmed the arrest of the 19-year-old
girl to journalists yesterday, said she was arrested in Sokoto Rima River Basin
area of the state with the drugs meant for sale to her clients.
Sani added that
the girl ran away from her village to stay with her boyfriend under the
pretense that her step-father and mother wanted to give her out in marriage
without her consent.
The NDLEA boss
gave the quantity of illicit drugs found in possession of the teenage girl to
be 14.4grams of Tramadol, 14.8grams of Exol-5 and 2.4grams of D5.
Interacting with
the teenage girl, she said her boyfriend, Abdulsalam, asked her to keep the
drugs in her possession that he forgot something at home and he needed to pick
it up.
“The drugs are
for my boyfriend, Abdulsalam. I met him around the motor park here in Katsina
where he sells the drugs.
“I am from
Tantagaria village on your way to Bakiya. I sell rice and beans.
“On that day, he
(my boyfriend) told me to keep the drugs that he forgot something that he
needed to pick up at home. He fled the house after I was arrested. They found
three drugs with me. I don’t know the names of the drugs. I don’t take it,” the
teenage girl, Zakiya Abdulkarim stated.
NDLEA Nabs Two Over Possession Of Illicit Drug In Anambra
The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, NDLEA,
has arrested two persons for being in possession of hard drugs in Awka.
Solomon Michael and Okechukwu Udenkwo both from Abia
and Anambra State respectively were arrested in Nando, Anambra West LGA and
Onitsha during a raid for being in possession of cannabis sativa.
Addressing the press on the matter, the State
Commander of the NDLEA, Mr Sule Momodu said the suspects were arrested when his
men raided Onitsha and Nando respectively.
He claimed that one of the suspects, Solomon is a
major distributor of Cannabis Sativa in Onitsha, and accused Okechukwu Udenkwo
of being involved in the business of distributing cocaine in Nando.
The NDLEA commander who said that the suspect will
be charged to court disclosed that with the arrest of the suspects who have
been terrorizing their areas, sanity and peace will be restored in those areas.
Mr Momodu, however, solicited the cooperation of the
various community leaders to enable them win the war against illicit drug in
the state and assured informants that their identities will not be disclosed.
He further called for collective efforts in
sustaining the excellent security recorded in the state while commending
Governor Willie Obiano for his efforts in securing the state.
In their reactions, Solomon Michael admitted to the
crime and pleaded for pardon while Okechukwu Udenkwo denied committing the
crime.
The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, NDLEA,
has arrested two persons for being in possession of hard drugs in Awka.